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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 ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. lie — to recline
  5. chest — of your body
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. chest — of your body
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. tube — the underground
  15. chest — a box
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. bark — to shout
  18. tube — a container
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. root — of a plant
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. root — the cause
  24. calf — a young animal

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