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

Word bank: cell · bark · trunk · bat · race · pound

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bark — to shout
  7. pound — a weight
  8. bat — the animal
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. race — the arms race
  13. cell — in biology
  14. race — a contest
  15. race — humankind
  16. cell — a phone
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. pound — to hit hard

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