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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pound — a weight
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. fall — to drop
  9. hand — help
  10. kid — to tease
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. fall — the season
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. root — the cause
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. branch — a division
  19. hand — in cards
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. kid — child
  22. fall — to drop
  23. root — of a plant
  24. root — of a word

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