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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 124 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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. charge — electricity
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. fine — all right
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. charge — in control
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. bark — to shout
  11. field — farmland
  12. bass — low music
  13. charge — a price
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. field — a subject
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. fine — high quality
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. bass — the fish
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. field — for sport
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. trunk — of a car

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