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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: game · wake · row · court · cold · calf · fan · bark

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  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. bark — of a tree
  2. wake — a trail
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. row — a line
  6. game — wild animals
  7. cold — not warm
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. row — to paddle
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. court — for sport
  15. court — of a king
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bark — to shout
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. court — of law
  21. game — a match
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. wake — before a funeral
  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