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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. present — a gift
  3. cell — in biology
  4. cell — a phone
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. saw — the tool
  8. rash — a series
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. present — there
  11. current — happening now
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. ground — the earth
  14. bark — to shout
  15. saw — the tool
  16. ground — a position
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. current — of water
  19. present — the time now
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. rash — hasty
  23. current — electric
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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