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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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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: content · kid · pound · land · trunk · rash · rest · wax

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. rash — hasty
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. rash — a series
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. land — a country
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. land — ground
  11. rest — a break
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. land — to come down
  19. kid — child
  20. content — happy
  21. wax — to grow
  22. kid — to tease
  23. content — the amount
  24. rest — what's left

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