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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. court — for sport
  4. court — of law
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. bank — for money
  7. clip — a video
  8. ground — a position
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. wax — to grow
  11. press — newspapers
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. court — of a king
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. ground — crushed
  17. bank — for money
  18. press — to push
  19. press — a publisher
  20. ground — the earth
  21. clip — to cut
  22. clip — for paper
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. bank — of a river

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