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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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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: kick · spring · chair · calf · cold · race

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. cold — an illness
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. spring — of water
  7. race — a contest
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. chair — a leader
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. spring — the season
  13. kick — in football
  14. race — the arms race
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. spring — a coil
  18. cold — not warm

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