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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 120 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 · bark · can · sharp · cold · cell · lash · mate

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. can — a tin
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. sharp — clever
  9. bark — to shout
  10. cell — a phone
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. cell — in biology
  13. cold — an illness
  14. mate — a partner
  15. can — a tin
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. mate — to breed
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. cold — not warm
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. mate — a friend
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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