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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: temple · calf · bass · pound · branch · bark · cold · court

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bark — to shout
  3. cold — not warm
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. court — of a king
  6. branch — a division
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. court — of law
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. court — for sport
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bass — the fish
  21. cold — an illness
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. pound — a weight
  24. bass — the instrument

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