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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: bear · pop · rule · shower · cold · bark · pitch · calf

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. bark — to shout
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. pop — music
  8. pitch — completely
  9. rule — a law
  10. rule — government
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. shower — rain
  14. bear — the animal
  15. pop — to visit
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. cold — not warm
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. pop — soda
  20. shower — to wash
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. cold — an illness
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. rule — to rule out

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