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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 · root · clip · cold · object · bank · rest · calf

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. rest — what's left
  3. cold — an illness
  4. spring — of water
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. clip — a video
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. root — the cause
  9. root — of a word
  10. bank — for money
  11. rest — a break
  12. cold — not warm
  13. spring — a coil
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. root — of a plant
  17. spring — the season
  18. bank — of a river
  19. object — an aim
  20. object — a thing
  21. clip — for paper
  22. rest — what's left
  23. bank — for money
  24. object — to protest

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