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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. chair — a leader
  5. cold — an illness
  6. march — music
  7. land — a country
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. march — the month
  13. board — to get on
  14. land — to come down
  15. march — the month
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. board — a committee
  20. land — ground
  21. cold — not warm
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. cold — the Cold War

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