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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. lean — to bend
  4. field — farmland
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. field — for sport
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. craft — boats
  11. lean — thin
  12. pop — music
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. kid — to tease
  15. pop — to visit
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. pop — soda
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. field — a subject
  22. craft — a skill
  23. pound — a weight
  24. kid — child

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