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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  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. bark — a dog's sound
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. cell — a phone
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. stand — to bear
  7. cell — in biology
  8. current — electric
  9. court — for sport
  10. wax — to grow
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. court — of a king
  14. chair — a leader
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. current — happening now
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. current — of water
  20. court — of law
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. cell — in a prison
  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