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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. land — to come down
  4. mark — a grade
  5. vault — a safe
  6. land — ground
  7. mark — a trace
  8. spell — letters
  9. bark — to shout
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. spell — magic
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. spell — a short time
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. wound — an injury
  22. land — a country
  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