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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — to tease
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. wound — an injury
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. chest — of your body
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. wound — an injury
  12. chest — a box
  13. board — a committee
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. chest — of your body
  16. board — to get on
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. deal — to handle
  19. bark — to shout
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. ruler — for measuring

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