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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. hand — help
  4. bank — for money
  5. dip — to sink
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. rash — a series
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. hand — in cards
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. band — a music group
  12. pit — a hole
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. pound — a weight
  15. bank — of a river
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. rash — hasty
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. band — a ring
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. bank — for money
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. pit — in a race
  24. trunk — of a tree

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