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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. firm — decided
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. firm — steady
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. chest — of your body
  7. current — electric
  8. march — the month
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. dip — to sink
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. mine — for digging
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. bark — to shout
  15. firm — a company
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. current — of water
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. chest — a box
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. chest — of your body
  24. current — happening now

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