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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bark — to shout
  4. track — a song
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. track — to keep track
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. chip — to eat
  10. cap — a hat
  11. row — to paddle
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. chip — for betting
  14. snap — to click
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. wax — to grow
  17. row — a line
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. cap — a lid
  22. track — a path
  23. cap — of ice
  24. trunk — of a tree

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