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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: wind · ball · ground · trunk · bark · file · cue · pass

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. wind — moving air
  3. cue — a signal
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. ground — the earth
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. ball — a great time
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. ground — a position
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. pass — a permit
  14. file — a tool
  15. cue — a hint
  16. bark — to shout
  17. file — a line of people
  18. wind — moving air
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. file — a document
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. cue — for pool
  24. ball — a dance

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