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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
468
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: ground · stand · bark · date · calf · pitch · wax · cold

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. cold — not warm
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bark — to shout
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. stand — to bear
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. pitch — completely
  14. ground — crushed
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. wax — to grow
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. date — the fruit
  21. ground — the earth
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. wax — in the ear

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