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

Word bank: tear · cold · bark · race · calf · kick

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. race — a contest
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bark — to shout
  10. cold — an illness
  11. race — humankind
  12. tear — to rip
  13. kick — in football
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — not warm
  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