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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: clip · lie · bay · mouse · pound · kid · trunk · track

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. clip — for paper
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. kid — to tease
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. lie — to recline
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. track — a path
  13. track — to keep track
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. clip — a video
  22. track — a song
  23. clip — to cut
  24. pound — a weight

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