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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: race · pass · bank · cold · kick · court · bark · calf

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. court — of a king
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bank — for money
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. court — of law
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. race — humankind
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. bank — for money
  14. cold — an illness
  15. bank — of a river
  16. race — the arms race
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. kick — in football
  19. pass — a permit
  20. cold — not warm
  21. race — a contest
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. cold — the Cold War

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