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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  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. nail — on a finger
  2. bark — to shout
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. spell — magic
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. current — of water
  7. current — happening now
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. branch — a division
  11. current — electric
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. spell — letters
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. spell — a short time
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. branch — of a tree
  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