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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 · court · trunk · lean · club · wound · leaves · pass

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. pass — a permit
  3. court — of a king
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. lean — to bend
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. court — for sport
  8. lean — thin
  9. club — for golf
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. court — of law
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. wound — an injury
  19. pound — a weight
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. club — a group
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. pound — for dogs

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