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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 116 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bark · lash · wake · pit · cold · trunk

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. cold — not warm
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. wake — a trail
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. pit — in a race
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. pit — a hole
  16. bark — to shout
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. lash — an eyelash

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