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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: cold · spring · calf · fall · kick · lean

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. spring — the season
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. spring — a coil
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. cold — not warm
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — the season
  11. cold — an illness
  12. spring — of water
  13. kick — in football
  14. fall — to drop
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. lean — to bend

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