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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. spell — letters
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. face — part of the head
  6. spell — a short time
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. branch — a division
  9. spell — magic
  10. bark — to shout
  11. face — to confront
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. tear — to rip
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. tear — from crying
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. tear — from crying
  23. face — to point toward
  24. pass — a permit

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