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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: bulb · bark · pitch · bound · cold · kick · roll · calf

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. bound — certain
  4. pitch — completely
  5. roll — a cake
  6. bound — obliged
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. kick — in football
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bulb — for light
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. bulb — for light
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bark — to shout
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. bound — tied together
  23. roll — a list
  24. calf — a young animal

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