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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 116 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: hand · branch · drill · cold · charge · bark · mate · calf

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. mate — a partner
  3. branch — a division
  4. charge — electricity
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. hand — help
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. mate — a friend
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. hand — in cards
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. drill — army training
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. charge — a price
  15. cold — an illness
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. charge — in control
  20. drill — a practice
  21. drill — the tool
  22. mate — to breed
  23. cold — not warm
  24. hand — part of the body

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