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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: bark · land · hand · content · cap · current · calf · pass

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. hand — in cards
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. land — a country
  7. content — the amount
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. pass — a permit
  10. cap — a hat
  11. current — electric
  12. land — ground
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. hand — help
  15. cap — a lid
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. land — to come down
  18. content — happy
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. bark — to shout
  21. current — happening now
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. current — of water
  24. cap — of ice

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