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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: craft · land · mouse · trunk · bark · cell · temple · kick

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. craft — a skill
  5. land — ground
  6. kick — in football
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. land — to come down
  10. cell — a phone
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. craft — boats
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. bark — to shout
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. cell — in biology
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. trunk — of a car

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