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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 train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. track — a path
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. bark — to shout
  6. tube — a container
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. staff — a stick
  9. staff — employees
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. season — of the year
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. tube — the underground
  14. land — to come down
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. track — to keep track
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. track — a song
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. season — in sport
  21. land — a country
  22. staff — employees
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. land — ground

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