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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: bark · staff · lean · trunk · branch · mark · fall · court

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. mark — a grade
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. staff — employees
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. fall — to drop
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. bark — to shout
  9. court — of a king
  10. fall — to drop
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. lean — thin
  15. court — of law
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. lean — to bend
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. staff — a stick
  20. court — for sport
  21. fall — the season
  22. branch — a division
  23. mark — a trace
  24. branch — 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