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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 · wave · bark · chest · ground · band · leaves · cell

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. band — a ring
  4. chest — a box
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cell — a phone
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. cell — in biology
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. chest — of your body
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. ground — a position
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. ground — the earth
  18. chest — of your body
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. bark — to shout
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. ground — crushed

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