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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  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. calf — of the leg
  3. squash — the sport
  4. club — a group
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. shower — rain
  8. toast — bread
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. lean — thin
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. cold — not warm
  15. club — for golf
  16. club — for dancing
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. lean — to bend
  21. shower — to wash
  22. cold — an illness
  23. squash — to crush
  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