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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: calf · bat · cold · foot · squash · lean · wind · spell

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. spell — letters
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. bat — the animal
  6. lean — thin
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. lean — to bend
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. wind — moving air
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. spell — a short time
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. foot — a measure
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — an illness
  20. squash — the sport
  21. squash — to crush
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. spell — magic

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