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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: fall · pass · bay · cold · calf · spring · file · rash

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — the season
  5. rash — hasty
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. spring — of water
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. pass — a permit
  13. file — a document
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. cold — an illness
  16. fall — to drop
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. spring — the season
  19. cold — not warm
  20. file — a tool
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. spring — a coil
  23. rash — a series
  24. file — a line of people

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