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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: tube · clip · firm · calf · bark · fine · coach · bat

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. clip — for paper
  4. fine — all right
  5. tube — the underground
  6. firm — a company
  7. clip — a video
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bat — the animal
  10. firm — decided
  11. fine — high quality
  12. bark — to shout
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. clip — to cut
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. tube — a container
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. firm — steady

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