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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: content · ground · straw · field · bark · trunk · fork · pit

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. ground — the earth
  3. pit — a hole
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bark — to shout
  8. ground — crushed
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — for sport
  13. ground — a position
  14. field — a subject
  15. fork — in a road
  16. content — happy
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. pit — in a race
  21. content — the amount
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. trunk — 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