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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. tube — the underground
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. wake — a trail
  6. face — to point toward
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. face — part of the head
  14. tube — a container
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bound — certain
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. land — a country
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bound — tied together
  21. face — to confront
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. land — to come down
  24. trunk — 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