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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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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: chair · pitcher · snap · mate · court · bark · bear · trunk

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. chair — a leader
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. court — for sport
  9. mate — a partner
  10. court — of a king
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. court — of law
  16. snap — to click
  17. mate — to breed
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. mate — a friend
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. pitcher — a jug

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