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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 120 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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. game — wild animals
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. chip — to eat
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. bass — low music
  8. squash — to crush
  9. tear — to rip
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. chip — for betting
  13. squash — the sport
  14. bark — to shout
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. kick — in football
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. game — a match
  19. bass — the fish
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. tear — from crying

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