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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: spring · wind · calf · firm · temple · deal · ground · kid

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. firm — a company
  4. spring — of water
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. ground — the earth
  7. wind — moving air
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. wind — moving air
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. ground — a position
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. firm — decided
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kid — to tease
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. firm — steady
  19. ground — crushed
  20. kid — child
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. spring — the season
  24. deal — to handle

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