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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: content · object · spell · degree · lean · spring · calf · cold

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. content — happy
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. object — to protest
  5. spring — of water
  6. degree — from a university
  7. degree — temperature
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. spell — a short time
  11. lean — to bend
  12. object — an aim
  13. spell — magic
  14. spring — the season
  15. spell — letters
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. content — the amount
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. spring — a coil
  20. object — a thing
  21. lean — thin
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. cold — an illness
  24. degree — an amount

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