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

Word bank: calf · snap · drill · chip · sharp · cold

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. drill — army training
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. chip — for betting
  8. snap — to click
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. drill — a practice
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — an illness
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. drill — the tool
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. chip — to eat

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