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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: bear · club · net · ground · trunk · press · pound · row

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. club — for golf
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. club — for dancing
  6. ground — the earth
  7. net — after costs
  8. press — newspapers
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. pound — a weight
  11. press — a publisher
  12. row — to paddle
  13. ground — crushed
  14. net — for catching
  15. bear — the animal
  16. net — in sport
  17. row — a line
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. press — to push
  21. ground — a position
  22. club — a group
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. bear — the animal

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