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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.

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 · chip · ball · bark · roll · chest · land · chair

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. ball — a great time
  6. chip — for betting
  7. chair — a leader
  8. land — a country
  9. roll — a cake
  10. land — to come down
  11. land — ground
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. ball — a dance
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. chip — to eat
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. chest — a box
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. bark — to shout
  24. roll — a list

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