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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 116 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: lie · clip · pit · ground · trunk · pound · capital · fine

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. fine — high quality
  6. ground — the earth
  7. ground — crushed
  8. pit — a hole
  9. pit — in a race
  10. fine — all right
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. lie — to recline
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. clip — for paper
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. pound — a weight
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. capital — money
  19. clip — to cut
  20. ground — a position
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. clip — a video
  23. capital — a city
  24. lie — an untruth

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