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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: cap · stand · fall · cold · straw · present · calf · kid

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  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. straw — dry grass
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. cap — a hat
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. kid — child
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. present — the time now
  11. fall — to drop
  12. stand — to bear
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. fall — the season
  15. fall — to drop
  16. present — a gift
  17. cold — not warm
  18. present — there
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. cap — a lid
  21. cap — of ice
  22. kid — to tease
  23. cold — the Cold War
  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