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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: deal · degree · clip · calf · bark · pass · fall · shower

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. fall — to drop
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. degree — from a university
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bark — to shout
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. deal — to handle
  10. shower — to wash
  11. clip — a video
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. clip — to cut
  15. pass — a permit
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. fall — the season
  19. fall — to drop
  20. clip — for paper
  21. degree — temperature
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. shower — rain
  24. degree — an amount

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