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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. track — a path
  4. fall — the season
  5. swing — to play on
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. capital — a city
  8. cell — in biology
  9. track — a song
  10. perch — the fish
  11. fall — to drop
  12. pound — a weight
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. track — to keep track
  15. swing — music
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. capital — money
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. swing — in golf
  22. cell — a phone
  23. fall — to drop
  24. perch — for a bird

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com