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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: trunk · spell · degree · bark · rash · stand · squash · file

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. degree — an amount
  3. spell — magic
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. file — a tool
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. file — a document
  10. squash — to crush
  11. spell — a short time
  12. degree — from a university
  13. stand — to bear
  14. spell — letters
  15. degree — temperature
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. file — a line of people
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. bark — to shout
  20. squash — the sport
  21. rash — hasty
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. rash — a series
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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