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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: cold · pit · game · last · bark · calf · plane · club

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. club — for golf
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. bark — to shout
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. last — finally
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. last — final
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. game — wild animals
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. plane — a tool
  16. game — a match
  17. club — a group
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. club — for dancing
  20. pit — a hole
  21. cold — not warm
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. pit — in a race
  24. last — to go on

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