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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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. track — to keep track
  4. ball — a dance
  5. cell — a phone
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. degree — temperature
  10. track — a path
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. track — a song
  14. degree — from a university
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. degree — an amount
  17. bark — to shout
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. ball — a great time
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. cell — in biology
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. hide — animal skin

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