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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: vault · cold · calf · firm · march · season · dip · patient

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. firm — steady
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. vault — a safe
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. firm — a company
  9. firm — decided
  10. march — music
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. season — of the year
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. dip — to sink
  17. cold — an illness
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. march — the month
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. season — in sport
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. march — the month

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