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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 hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. spring — the season
  4. ground — the earth
  5. ground — a position
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. spell — letters
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. spring — of water
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. capital — a city
  12. hand — in cards
  13. ground — crushed
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. hand — help
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. spring — a coil
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. capital — money
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. spell — magic
  23. spell — a short time
  24. calf — a young animal

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