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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: chest · wind · club · jam · bark · trunk

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — for golf
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. chest — a box
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. chest — of your body
  14. wind — moving air
  15. club — a group
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. bark — to shout
  18. chest — of your body

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