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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: bark · wound · march · pitcher · toast · leaves · trunk · hand

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. march — the month
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. wound — an injury
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. wound — an injury
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. hand — in cards
  16. toast — bread
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. hand — help
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bark — to shout
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. march — music
  24. march — the month

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