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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 120 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: spring · cold · calf · capital · race · firm

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. spring — the season
  3. race — the arms race
  4. capital — money
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. capital — a city
  8. race — humankind
  9. firm — decided
  10. cold — not warm
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. spring — of water
  13. race — a contest
  14. firm — a company
  15. spring — a coil
  16. cold — an illness
  17. firm — steady
  18. cold — the Cold War

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