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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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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 · wake · bank · kid · bat · scale · chest · calf

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. kid — child
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bank — for money
  8. chest — of your body
  9. scale — size or range
  10. bank — of a river
  11. wake — a trail
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. chest — a box
  14. bank — for money
  15. kid — to tease
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. scale — in music
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bat — the animal
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. bat — in an idiom

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