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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  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 — to shout
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. swing — music
  6. suit — in cards
  7. drill — a practice
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. drill — the tool
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. tube — the underground
  13. swing — in golf
  14. cold — an illness
  15. tube — a container
  16. suit — to fit
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. row — a line
  19. suit — clothes
  20. drill — army training
  21. swing — to play on
  22. row — to paddle
  23. cold — not warm
  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