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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: temple · content · shower · bass · ground · bark · land · calf

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. ground — the earth
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bass — low music
  5. land — to come down
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. land — ground
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. bass — the fish
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. content — happy
  14. shower — to wash
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. land — a country
  18. content — the amount
  19. ground — crushed
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. ground — a position
  23. shower — rain
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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