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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: cold · kid · stand · track · rest · band · calf · pound

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. rest — what's left
  3. band — a ring
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. stand — to bear
  6. track — to keep track
  7. track — a path
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. kid — to tease
  12. band — a music group
  13. kid — child
  14. rest — a break
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. track — a song
  19. cold — an illness
  20. rest — what's left
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. cold — not warm
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. pound — a weight

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