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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cell — a phone
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. face — to confront
  9. cell — in biology
  10. bark — to shout
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bulb — for light
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. foot — a measure
  16. face — part of the head
  17. face — to point toward
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. cold — an illness
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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