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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. roll — a list
  5. bark — to shout
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. row — to paddle
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. fall — the season
  12. bass — low music
  13. fall — to drop
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. roll — a cake
  18. row — a line
  19. bass — the fish
  20. chair — a leader
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. trunk — of a tree

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