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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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. calf — a young animal
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. ground — the earth
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. ground — crushed
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. ground — a position
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. bear — the animal
  23. band — a ring
  24. band — a music group

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