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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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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: calf · bark · last · temple · can · cold · fan · net

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. can — to be able to
  3. cold — not warm
  4. last — finally
  5. last — final
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. bark — to shout
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. cold — an illness
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. net — in sport
  13. net — for catching
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. last — to go on
  16. can — a tin
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. can — a tin
  19. net — after costs
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. fan — a supporter

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