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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: trunk · cue · bark · wound · chest · root · mug · cabinet

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. bark — to shout
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. mug — to rob
  6. mug — a cup
  7. cue — a signal
  8. wound — an injury
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. cue — a hint
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. chest — a box
  14. mug — a face
  15. chest — of your body
  16. root — of a word
  17. chest — of your body
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. root — of a plant
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. cue — for pool
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. root — the cause

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