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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: mouse · trunk · lean · fan · branch · pound · arm · game

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. lean — to bend
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. pound — a weight
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. branch — a division
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. game — a match
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. game — wild animals

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