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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. drill — the tool
  9. spring — of water
  10. branch — a division
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. drill — a practice
  13. drill — army training
  14. capital — money
  15. pound — a weight
  16. capital — a city
  17. ground — crushed
  18. spring — a coil
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. spring — the season
  22. ground — the earth
  23. dip — to sink
  24. ground — a position

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