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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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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 · cold · calf · capital · race · firm · tear · rest

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. rest — what's left
  3. spring — a coil
  4. cold — an illness
  5. tear — to rip
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — humankind
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. cold — not warm
  11. race — the arms race
  12. capital — money
  13. firm — steady
  14. tear — from crying
  15. capital — a city
  16. rest — what's left
  17. firm — a company
  18. spring — the season
  19. firm — decided
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. spring — of water
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. rest — a break
  24. calf — of the leg

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