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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wake · calf · patient · bark · fork · degree

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. 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. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. fork — in a road
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bark — to shout
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. wake — a trail
  14. degree — temperature
  15. degree — an amount
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. degree — from a university
  18. 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