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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: patient · trunk · bark · tear · pop · land · ground · charge

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. pop — music
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. pop — soda
  7. pop — to visit
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — from crying
  11. charge — electricity
  12. bark — to shout
  13. ground — the earth
  14. land — ground
  15. ground — crushed
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. charge — in control
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. land — a country
  20. tear — to rip
  21. charge — a price
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. land — to come down
  24. trunk — of a car

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