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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: pass · court · bark · land · calf · key · bore · cell

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cell — a phone
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. key — for a lock
  7. cell — in biology
  8. land — ground
  9. key — the most important part
  10. key — in music
  11. court — of a king
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. court — for sport
  15. land — to come down
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. bore — to tire
  20. pass — a permit
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bore — to drill
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. court — of law

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