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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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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: bear · kick · calf · cap · bark · wound · branch · tear

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. tear — from crying
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. cap — of ice
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. wound — an injury
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. kick — in football
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bear — the animal
  13. branch — a division
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. cap — a lid
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. bark — to shout
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — to rip
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. cap — a hat

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