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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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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: cold · mark · trunk · racket · mine · bark · foot · cell

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. bark — to shout
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. foot — a measure
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cold — an illness
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. mark — a grade
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. cell — a phone
  22. mark — a trace
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. foot — the bottom

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