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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 · chest · tube · trunk · ground · board · object · game

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. ground — a position
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. object — to protest
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. tube — the underground
  8. board — a committee
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. chest — of your body
  11. ground — the earth
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. chest — a box
  14. game — a match
  15. ground — crushed
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. tube — a container
  20. chest — of your body
  21. object — a thing
  22. board — to get on
  23. object — an aim
  24. bark — to shout

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