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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: present · object · tear · cold · calf · spring

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. object — to protest
  3. tear — to rip
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. cold — an illness
  7. spring — the season
  8. present — a gift
  9. present — the time now
  10. tear — from crying
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — not warm
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. object — an aim
  15. tear — from crying
  16. object — a thing
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — a coil

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