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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. net — after costs
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. ground — the earth
  6. spell — magic
  7. fall — to drop
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. can — to be able to
  10. spell — a short time
  11. ground — crushed
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. ground — a position
  14. pound — a weight
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. fall — to drop
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. net — in sport
  19. can — a tin
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. net — for catching
  23. fall — the season
  24. can — a tin

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