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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. file — a document
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. mine — for digging
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. file — a tool
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. pass — a permit
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. saw — the tool
  15. net — after costs
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. ball — a dance
  18. bark — to shout
  19. file — a line of people
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. ball — a great time
  22. net — in sport
  23. saw — the tool
  24. net — for catching

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