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

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. suit — in cards
  4. row — to paddle
  5. ball — a dance
  6. suit — clothes
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. row — a line
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. ball — a great time
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. plane — a tool
  21. cold — an illness
  22. suit — to fit
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — the Cold War

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