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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 120 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: temple · trunk · row · bark · pound · pitcher · net · chip

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. net — for catching
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. net — after costs
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. row — a line
  10. pound — a weight
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. chip — for betting
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. bark — to shout
  18. chip — to eat
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. net — in sport
  24. row — to paddle

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