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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · cold · calf · fall · can · temple · game · clip

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. fall — the season
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. game — wild animals
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. cold — an illness
  10. game — a match
  11. fall — to drop
  12. can — a tin
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. fall — to drop
  16. clip — a video
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. clip — for paper
  19. can — a tin
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. clip — to cut
  23. cold — not warm
  24. can — to be able to

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