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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: last · trunk · cell · bark · mate · bowl · field · mug

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. mug — a cup
  3. mug — to rob
  4. last — to go on
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. mate — a partner
  9. field — a subject
  10. mate — to breed
  11. bark — to shout
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. cell — in biology
  15. mug — a face
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. last — final
  18. mate — a friend
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. last — finally
  22. field — for sport
  23. field — farmland
  24. cell — a phone

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