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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: spring · stick · calf · pop · patient · bear · cold · last

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. last — final
  3. cold — not warm
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. spring — a coil
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. bear — the animal
  9. last — finally
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. cold — an illness
  12. pop — music
  13. spring — the season
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. bear — the animal
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. spring — of water
  19. last — to go on
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. pop — soda
  23. pop — to visit
  24. calf — of the leg

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