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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 120 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: spring · stand · calf · wound · last · object · fork · cold

  1. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. spring — the season
  4. wound — an injury
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. spring — a coil
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. stand — to bear
  10. spring — of water
  11. fork — in a road
  12. object — to protest
  13. cold — not warm
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. object — a thing
  18. last — final
  19. object — an aim
  20. wound — an injury
  21. last — finally
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. last — to go on

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