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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 116 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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  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 car
  2. fork — in a road
  3. ground — crushed
  4. key — in music
  5. cell — in biology
  6. cell — a phone
  7. ground — the earth
  8. key — for a lock
  9. bark — to shout
  10. spring — of water
  11. club — for dancing
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. spring — a coil
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. ground — a position
  16. club — for golf
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. spring — the season
  20. club — a group
  21. key — the most important part
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. cell — in a prison
  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