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

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. track — to keep track
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. track — a song
  8. track — a path
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. shower — rain
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. shower — to wash
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. bark — of a tree

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