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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: degree · row · calf · chest · race · object · bark · cap

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. row — to paddle
  4. chest — of your body
  5. degree — an amount
  6. cap — of ice
  7. degree — temperature
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. cap — a lid
  10. race — a contest
  11. cap — a hat
  12. object — to protest
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. degree — from a university
  15. object — an aim
  16. race — humankind
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. chest — a box
  19. object — a thing
  20. bark — to shout
  21. row — a line
  22. chest — of your body
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. race — the arms race

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