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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: trunk · degree · bark · fork · game · racket · mine · scale

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. fork — in a road
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. bark — to shout
  6. game — a match
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. scale — size or range
  11. degree — from a university
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. game — wild animals
  14. mine — for digging
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. scale — in music
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. degree — an amount
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. degree — temperature

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