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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: calf · bore · temple · court · tear · file · branch · bark

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. bore — to tire
  3. tear — to rip
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bore — to drill
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. file — a tool
  9. court — of law
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. branch — a division
  16. court — of a king
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. file — a line of people
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. tear — from crying
  22. bark — to shout
  23. file — a document
  24. tear — from crying

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