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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. chest — a box
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. fine — all right
  6. game — wild animals
  7. spring — the season
  8. drill — a practice
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. fine — high quality
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. bark — to shout
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. drill — army training
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. game — a match
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — of your body
  20. drill — the tool
  21. toast — bread
  22. spring — of water
  23. spring — a coil
  24. toast — the most admired

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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