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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: chair · calf · bass · bark · tear · spell · temple · kid

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. bass — low music
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. spell — magic
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. kid — to tease
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bark — to shout
  13. tear — from crying
  14. kid — child
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. spell — a short time
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. chair — a leader
  22. bass — the fish
  23. spell — letters
  24. chair — to sit 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