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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. pop — to visit
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. pop — music
  6. present — a gift
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. saw — the tool
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. present — the time now
  11. snap — to click
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. saw — the tool
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. present — there
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. field — farmland
  20. field — a subject
  21. field — for sport
  22. bark — to shout
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. pop — soda

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