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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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. spell — magic
  5. spell — letters
  6. degree — from a university
  7. court — of a king
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. court — for sport
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. degree — an amount
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. court — of law
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bark — to shout
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. spell — a short time
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. degree — temperature

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