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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 116 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: ground · vault · calf · pop · spring · straw · cold · deal

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. spring — a coil
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. spring — the season
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. vault — a safe
  8. spring — of water
  9. cold — not warm
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. pop — soda
  15. ground — crushed
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. pop — to visit
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. pop — music
  21. deal — to handle
  22. ground — the earth
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. cold — an illness

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