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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 120 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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bark — to shout
  4. chest — of your body
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. march — the month
  7. lean — thin
  8. kick — in football
  9. tube — the underground
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. tube — a container
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. march — music
  20. march — the month
  21. bear — the animal
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. lean — to bend
  24. calf — a young animal

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