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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 124 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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. chest — of your body
  3. row — a line
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. rest — what's left
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. bore — to tire
  10. bore — to drill
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. mine — for digging
  14. chest — a box
  15. rest — a break
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. row — to paddle
  23. rest — what's left
  24. mine — an explosive

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