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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. cue — a hint
  7. degree — an amount
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. bark — to shout
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. cue — for pool
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. degree — from a university
  19. cue — a signal
  20. mine — for digging
  21. season — in sport
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. season — of the year
  24. degree — temperature

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