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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: stem · race · kick · cap · game · perch · fall · calf

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. race — humankind
  4. cap — a lid
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. fall — to drop
  7. cap — a hat
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. kick — in football
  12. cap — of ice
  13. perch — the fish
  14. game — a match
  15. fall — the season
  16. fall — to drop
  17. race — the arms race
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. game — wild animals
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. stem — to come from
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. game — a kind of play

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