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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 120 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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — the earth
  4. mine — for digging
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. chair — a leader
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. squash — the sport
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. squash — to crush
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. ground — a position
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. bark — to shout

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