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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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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: ground · leaves · cell · trunk · bark · cue · wind · coach

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. ground — crushed
  3. wind — moving air
  4. cue — a signal
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. cue — for pool
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. cue — a hint
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. ground — a position
  18. cell — a phone
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. cell — in biology
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. ground — the earth
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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