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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. band — a music group
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. root — of a plant
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. season — of the year
  8. net — in sport
  9. roll — a cake
  10. season — in sport
  11. root — the cause
  12. net — after costs
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. roll — a list
  15. root — of a word
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bark — to shout
  19. pound — a weight
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. band — a ring
  24. net — for catching

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