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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: straw · game · lash · pound · capital · rest · perch · trunk

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. game — a match
  3. rest — a break
  4. capital — a city
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. perch — the fish
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. pound — a weight
  14. game — wild animals
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. rest — what's left
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. capital — money
  23. rest — what's left
  24. perch — for a bird

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