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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: tube · bark · season · wind · court · drill · wake · trunk

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. court — for sport
  4. drill — the tool
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. bark — to shout
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. tube — the underground
  9. tube — a container
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. wake — a trail
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. court — of law
  15. wind — moving air
  16. court — of a king
  17. wind — moving air
  18. drill — army training
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. season — of the year
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. drill — a practice
  24. trunk — of a tree

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