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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bark · foot · cold · rock · present · sharp · game · trunk

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  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 an elephant
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. game — wild animals
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. rock — a stone
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. game — a match
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. rock — music
  13. cold — not warm
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. foot — a measure
  16. present — a gift
  17. cold — an illness
  18. sharp — clever
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. present — there
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. present — the time now
  23. bark — to shout
  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