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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 · stick · trunk · shower · bark · clip · kid · game

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. clip — for paper
  8. game — wild animals
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. clip — a video
  14. shower — to wash
  15. game — a match
  16. clip — to cut
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. kid — child
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bark — to shout
  23. kid — to tease
  24. trunk — of a tree

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