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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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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: squash · tear · degree · kid · jam · nail · bark · calf

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  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. tear — from crying
  2. squash — the sport
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. squash — to crush
  11. tear — to rip
  12. kid — child
  13. degree — an amount
  14. bark — to shout
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. degree — from a university
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. kid — to tease
  23. nail — for a hammer
  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