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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 116 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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. field — farmland
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. drill — army training
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. field — a subject
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. wake — a trail
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. cell — in biology
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. cell — a phone
  18. drill — a practice
  19. drill — the tool
  20. field — for sport
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. bark — to shout

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