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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. land — to come down
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. land — ground
  7. court — for sport
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. land — a country
  10. fine — all right
  11. bore — to drill
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. fine — high quality
  16. court — of a king
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. pound — a weight
  21. court — of law
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. bore — to tire

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