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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: fan · bark · trunk · chair · bore · roll · cell · stick

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. roll — a cake
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bark — to shout
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. chair — a leader
  9. cell — a phone
  10. roll — a list
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. cell — in biology
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. bore — to tire
  22. bore — to drill
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. bark — of a tree

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