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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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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 · staff · present · bound · plane · spring · march · cold

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. present — there
  4. bound — certain
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. cold — not warm
  7. plane — a tool
  8. staff — a stick
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. march — the month
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. present — a gift
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. staff — employees
  15. spring — of water
  16. bound — tied together
  17. spring — a coil
  18. march — music
  19. present — the time now
  20. bound — obliged
  21. march — the month
  22. spring — the season
  23. staff — employees
  24. cold — an illness

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