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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 120 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 ball is in your ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. court — for sport
  3. court — of law
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. track — to keep track
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. swing — music
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. mate — to breed
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. swing — to play on
  13. swing — in golf
  14. court — of a king
  15. clip — to cut
  16. track — a path
  17. pound — a weight
  18. track — a song
  19. mate — a partner
  20. clip — a video
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. mate — a friend
  23. clip — for paper
  24. lash — to lash out

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