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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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. bark — to shout
  3. ground — the earth
  4. bear — the animal
  5. ground — a position
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. ground — crushed
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. pop — music
  10. capital — a city
  11. bear — the animal
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. roll — a cake
  16. pop — to visit
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. roll — a list
  19. capital — money
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. pop — soda
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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