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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: straw · dip · sharp · rule · bark · mine · season · calf

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. dip — to sink
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. sharp — clever
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. rule — a law
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. rule — government
  20. mine — for digging
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. season — in sport
  23. season — of the year
  24. mine — an explosive

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