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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 · rest · land · bat · track · bulb · trunk · kick

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. rest — what's left
  6. bulb — for light
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. kick — in football
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. land — to come down
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. land — ground
  16. land — a country
  17. bulb — for light
  18. track — to keep track
  19. rest — a break
  20. pound — a weight
  21. track — a path
  22. track — a song
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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