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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. scale — in music
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. spell — letters
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. mate — a partner
  8. mate — to breed
  9. wind — moving air
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. spell — a short time
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. spell — magic
  16. bark — to shout
  17. scale — size or range
  18. bat — the animal
  19. wind — moving air
  20. mate — a friend
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. bat — in an idiom

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