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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. present — a gift
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. land — ground
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. bark — to shout
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. plane — a tool
  12. mark — a grade
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. row — a line
  16. land — a country
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. present — there
  21. land — to come down
  22. present — the time now
  23. row — to paddle
  24. mark — a trace

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