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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. land — to come down
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. object — a thing
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. cell — in biology
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. fine — all right
  10. last — to go on
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. object — an aim
  13. last — finally
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. last — final
  16. spring — a coil
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. land — ground
  19. fine — high quality
  20. spring — the season
  21. spring — of water
  22. object — to protest
  23. land — a country
  24. cell — a phone

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