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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. pit — a hole
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. face — part of the head
  11. cell — a phone
  12. mate — to breed
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. pit — in a race
  15. bark — to shout
  16. mate — a partner
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. cell — in biology
  19. ground — crushed
  20. face — to confront
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. ground — the earth
  23. mate — a friend
  24. face — to point toward

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