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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. wound — an injury
  3. march — the month
  4. bark — to shout
  5. march — the month
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. chip — for betting
  9. game — a match
  10. bear — the animal
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. dip — to sink
  13. chip — to eat
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. game — wild animals
  16. bear — the animal
  17. march — music
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wound — an injury
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. dip — a sauce

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