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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. content — the amount
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. bark — to shout
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. chest — of your body
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. chest — of your body
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. chest — a box
  18. content — happy

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