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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. date — the fruit
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. season — of the year
  7. band — a ring
  8. face — to confront
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. face — to point toward
  11. chest — a box
  12. band — a music group
  13. face — part of the head
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. pound — a weight
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. bark — to shout
  21. season — in sport
  22. chest — of your body
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. chest — of your body

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