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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: pound · dip · trunk · cap · mark · game · wind · chest

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. chest — of your body
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. mark — a trace
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. pound — a weight
  10. game — wild animals
  11. chest — a box
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. cap — of ice
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. mark — a grade
  17. cap — a hat
  18. dip — to sink
  19. wind — moving air
  20. chest — of your body
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. cap — a lid

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