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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. kick — in football
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bark — to shout
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. pop — music
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. field — farmland
  15. pit — in a race
  16. pop — soda
  17. pit — a hole
  18. field — for sport
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. field — a subject
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. pop — to visit
  24. trunk — of a car

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