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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bass — low music
  5. board — a committee
  6. court — for sport
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. court — of law
  9. shower — rain
  10. bark — to shout
  11. board — to get on
  12. court — of a king
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. bass — the fish
  18. ball — a dance
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. ball — a great time
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. racket — a loud noise

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