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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: trunk · bark · degree · race · racket · pound · arm · prune

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. degree — an amount
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. prune — to trim
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. degree — from a university
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. pound — a weight
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. prune — to trim
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. degree — temperature
  16. race — humankind
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. race — the arms race
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. race — a contest
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. bark — to shout
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. arm — part of the body

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