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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. field — for sport
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. field — farmland
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. field — a subject
  7. toast — bread
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. race — the arms race
  11. race — a contest
  12. bass — low music
  13. capital — money
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. race — humankind
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bass — the fish
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. capital — a city
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. bark — of a tree

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