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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: toast · trunk · bark · wind · present · cap · ball · row

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. wind — moving air
  3. present — there
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. present — a gift
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. row — a line
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. bark — to shout
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. ball — a dance
  15. ball — a great time
  16. toast — bread
  17. present — the time now
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. cap — a hat
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. row — to paddle
  23. cap — of ice
  24. cap — a lid

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