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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 116 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: calf · race · stick · clip · cap · cold

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. race — the arms race
  3. cap — a hat
  4. clip — for paper
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. race — a contest
  8. cold — not warm
  9. clip — to cut
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. cap — a lid
  14. cap — of ice
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. race — humankind
  17. clip — a video
  18. calf — of the leg

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