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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 116 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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. spell — a short time
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. pop — to visit
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. pop — soda
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. wound — an injury
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. wound — an injury
  13. land — to come down
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. spell — letters
  16. spell — magic
  17. stem — to come from
  18. land — a country
  19. pop — music
  20. kick — in football
  21. land — ground
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. sharp — with an edge

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