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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 116 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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. hand — in cards
  3. hand — help
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. rest — what's left
  7. drill — a practice
  8. degree — from a university
  9. degree — an amount
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. dip — to sink
  12. pound — a weight
  13. swing — music
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. rest — what's left
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. drill — army training
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. rest — a break
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. swing — to play on
  22. swing — in golf
  23. degree — temperature
  24. drill — the tool

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