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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 116 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. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. court — for sport
  3. court — of law
  4. ground — crushed
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. cap — of ice
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. ball — a great time
  10. cap — a lid
  11. race — the arms race
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. cap — a hat
  15. ball — a dance
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. race — a contest
  18. bark — to shout
  19. race — humankind
  20. dip — to sink
  21. ground — a position
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. court — of a king
  24. ground — the earth

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