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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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. stem — to come from
  6. march — the month
  7. bass — low music
  8. fork — in a road
  9. shower — to wash
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. shower — rain
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. bark — to shout
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. bass — the fish
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. march — music
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. march — the month
  24. fork — a garden tool

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