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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — money
  5. fine — high quality
  6. fall — the season
  7. game — wild animals
  8. present — a gift
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. capital — a city
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — to drop
  14. present — the time now
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. game — a match
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. present — there
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. rash — hasty
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. pound — a weight
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. fine — all right

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