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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. pound — a weight
  4. bank — for money
  5. track — a path
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. saw — the tool
  8. file — a document
  9. saw — the tool
  10. file — a line of people
  11. track — a song
  12. bank — of a river
  13. track — to keep track
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. snap — to click
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. bank — for money
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. file — a tool
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. pound — to hit hard

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