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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: fall · date · wave · court · saw · bark · snap · calf

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. fall — to drop
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. fall — to drop
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. bark — to shout
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. saw — the tool
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. court — for sport
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. saw — the tool
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. court — of a king
  21. snap — to click
  22. court — of law
  23. date — the fruit
  24. fall — the season

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