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

Word bank: mine · net · stick · bat · fork · trunk · pound · wind

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. pound — a weight
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. bat — the animal
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. net — in sport
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. net — for catching
  17. net — after costs
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. wind — moving air
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. fork — in a road
  22. mine — for digging
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. bat — in an idiom

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