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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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 — a young animal
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bark — to shout
  5. march — the month
  6. fall — the season
  7. board — a committee
  8. scale — in music
  9. track — a path
  10. scale — size or range
  11. cold — an illness
  12. track — to keep track
  13. board — to get on
  14. march — music
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. march — the month
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — to drop
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. track — a song
  24. cold — not warm

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