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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. bank — of a river
  5. lean — to bend
  6. pop — soda
  7. kick — in football
  8. pop — music
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. band — a music group
  11. bank — for money
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. band — a ring
  15. cold — an illness
  16. pop — to visit
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. cold — not warm
  19. bank — for money
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. lean — thin
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. plane — a tool

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