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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: land · chip · bark · trunk · court · face · jam · spell

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. land — a country
  3. land — to come down
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. chip — to eat
  6. face — to confront
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. court — for sport
  9. spell — letters
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. face — part of the head
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. spell — magic
  15. spell — a short time
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bark — to shout
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. land — ground
  20. face — to point toward
  21. court — of law
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. chip — for betting
  24. court — of a king

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