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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 120 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: bark · bear · cold · staff · scale · last · clip · temple

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. last — to go on
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. last — final
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. cold — not warm
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. clip — a video
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. staff — employees
  14. bark — to shout
  15. staff — a stick
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bear — the animal
  19. cold — an illness
  20. last — finally
  21. bear — the animal
  22. scale — in music
  23. staff — employees
  24. temple — a place of worship

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