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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. object — a thing
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. object — an aim
  5. mine — for digging
  6. sharp — clever
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. bound — obliged
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. wax — to grow
  13. bat — the animal
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. field — for sport
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. bound — certain
  18. field — a subject
  19. bound — tied together
  20. object — to protest
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. field — farmland
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. bat — for baseball

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