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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 · calf · bank · tear · hand · game · bay · cold

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. game — wild animals
  5. tear — from crying
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. hand — help
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bark — to shout
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. tear — to rip
  14. hand — in cards
  15. bank — for money
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. tear — from crying
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. game — a match
  23. bank — for money
  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