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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  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 an elephant
  2. chest — of your body
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. chest — a box
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. cue — a hint
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. kid — to tease
  14. squash — to crush
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. bark — to shout
  17. content — the amount
  18. cue — a signal
  19. squash — the sport
  20. content — happy
  21. chest — of your body
  22. cue — for pool
  23. kid — child
  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