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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. kick — in football
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. stock — shares
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. stock — goods
  19. lean — to bend
  20. bark — to shout
  21. lean — thin
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. straw — dry grass

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