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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. mark — a grade
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bass — low music
  9. bark — to shout
  10. cell — a phone
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. capital — a city
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. mark — a trace
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bass — the fish
  19. capital — money
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. stand — to bear
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. stand — for spectators

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