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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: bay · chest · wound · bark · prune · hand · root · trunk

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. root — of a word
  11. prune — to trim
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. prune — to trim
  14. root — the cause
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — a box
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. root — of a plant
  19. hand — in cards
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. hand — help
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. chest — of your body
  24. wound — an injury

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