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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: bark · date · cell · roll · cold · deal · bound · calf

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. cold — an illness
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. cell — a phone
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. roll — a list
  13. bark — to shout
  14. roll — a cake
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bound — tied together
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cell — in biology
  19. bound — certain
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. date — the fruit
  22. deal — to handle
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. cold — not warm

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