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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: land · mate · racket · calf · stem · lash · kid · cold

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. stem — to come from
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. land — to come down
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — an illness
  8. mate — a partner
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. land — ground
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kid — to tease
  15. kid — child
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. land — a country
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. mate — a friend
  23. mate — to breed
  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