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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: bat · band · perch · bark · trunk · mark · drill · roll

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. perch — the fish
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. drill — a practice
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. roll — a cake
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bat — the animal
  15. drill — the tool
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. roll — a list
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. mark — a trace
  20. band — a music group
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. drill — army training
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. mark — a grade

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