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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: trunk · content · lie · can · snap · pound · cue · field

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. cue — for pool
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. snap — to click
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. cue — a hint
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. content — the amount
  12. field — for sport
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. field — a subject
  15. pound — a weight
  16. can — a tin
  17. field — farmland
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. cue — a signal
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. can — to be able to
  22. lie — to recline
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. can — a tin

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