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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: season · row · temple · calf · bark · stick · cold · mate

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. season — in sport
  3. bark — to shout
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. mate — to breed
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. row — a line
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. row — to paddle
  16. cold — an illness
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. mate — a friend
  19. season — of the year
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. mate — a partner
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. calf — of the leg

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