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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. land — a country
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. board — a committee
  8. ball — a dance
  9. land — ground
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. land — to come down
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. cell — a phone
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. kick — in football
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. ball — a great time
  20. board — to get on
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. cell — in biology
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. kick — with a leg

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