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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: kick · board · object · row · date · trunk · cell · bark

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bark — to shout
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. date — the fruit
  6. row — a line
  7. object — a thing
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. board — a committee
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. object — to protest
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. board — to get on
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. kick — in football
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. cell — a phone
  20. row — to paddle
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. cell — in biology
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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