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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 120 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: calf · bark · pop · cold · mouse · face · kid · key

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. pop — soda
  3. kid — child
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. face — part of the head
  7. bark — to shout
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. key — in music
  10. key — for a lock
  11. cold — an illness
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. kid — to tease
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. pop — music
  18. face — to point toward
  19. key — the most important part
  20. face — to confront
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. cold — not warm
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. pop — to visit

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