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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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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 · wake · stick · cap · current · cold · race · spring

  1. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. race — the arms race
  4. cold — not warm
  5. spring — the season
  6. cap — a lid
  7. current — happening now
  8. spring — a coil
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. cap — of ice
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. current — of water
  13. cap — a hat
  14. current — electric
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. cold — an illness
  17. race — humankind
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. spring — of water
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. race — a contest
  24. cold — the Cold War

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