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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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. foot — a measure
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. court — of law
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. object — a thing
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. court — of a king
  14. shower — rain
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. shower — to wash
  17. object — to protest
  18. object — an aim
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — an illness
  22. plane — a tool
  23. court — for sport
  24. cold — the Cold War

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