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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: degree · craft · content · bark · calf · tube · wind · swing

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. wind — moving air
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. tube — the underground
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. craft — a skill
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. swing — music
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. wind — moving air
  12. craft — boats
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. tube — a container
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. content — happy
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — from a university
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. bark — to shout
  21. swing — to play on
  22. degree — an amount
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. swing — in golf

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