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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. current — of water
  4. current — electric
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. key — the most important part
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. file — a document
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. file — a tool
  12. key — for a lock
  13. branch — a division
  14. bark — to shout
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. current — happening now
  17. key — in music
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. file — a line of people
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. cold — not warm
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bear — the 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