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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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. squash — the sport
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. present — the time now
  5. present — there
  6. face — to confront
  7. key — in music
  8. squash — to crush
  9. key — for a lock
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. present — a gift
  13. pit — a hole
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. face — to point toward
  16. face — part of the head
  17. key — the most important part
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. bark — to shout
  24. pit — in a race

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