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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. pass — a permit
  7. row — a line
  8. wound — an injury
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. bore — to tire
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. bore — to drill
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bark — to shout
  24. row — to paddle

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