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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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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: march · calf · cold · cap · bear · perch · coach · rash

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. cold — not warm
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. march — the month
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cap — of ice
  8. march — music
  9. march — the month
  10. cap — a lid
  11. perch — the fish
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. rash — a series
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. cap — a hat
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. rash — hasty
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bear — the animal

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