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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: hand · calf · wound · spring · bank · kid · rash · stem

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. kid — child
  3. spring — the season
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. hand — help
  6. hand — in cards
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bank — of a river
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. spring — of water
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. kid — to tease
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. stem — to come from
  18. rash — hasty
  19. bank — for money
  20. rash — a series
  21. bank — for money
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. spring — a coil
  24. rash — on the skin

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