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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 116 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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. land — ground
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. bear — the animal
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. swing — to play on
  11. swing — music
  12. cap — a lid
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. swing — in golf
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bear — the animal
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. cap — of ice
  23. land — a country
  24. cap — a hat

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