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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bulb · trunk · hand · last · cabinet · pound

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. pound — a weight
  3. last — final
  4. hand — help
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. bulb — for light
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. last — finally
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. bulb — for light
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. last — to go on

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