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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: bark · calf · band · kid · board · cold · cabinet · spring

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. spring — a coil
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. band — a music group
  5. bark — to shout
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. spring — of water
  10. spring — the season
  11. cold — not warm
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. board — to get on
  17. band — a ring
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. board — a committee
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. cold — an illness
  23. kid — child
  24. cabinet — ministers

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