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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 120 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: can · last · bulb · cold · rule · trunk · pound · chest

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. cold — an illness
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — final
  5. chest — of your body
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. can — a tin
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bulb — for light
  11. can — to be able to
  12. cold — not warm
  13. last — finally
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. rule — a law
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. pound — a weight
  21. chest — of your body
  22. rule — government
  23. can — a tin
  24. chest — a box

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