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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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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: leaves · march · pound · sharp · pitcher · trunk · lash · spell

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. spell — letters
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. spell — a short time
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. march — the month
  14. march — the month
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. pound — a weight
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. sharp — clever
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. march — music
  24. spell — magic

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