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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 124 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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Word bank
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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: game · rest · wake · sharp · last · deal · cell · spring

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. rest — what's left
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cell — in biology
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. last — final
  10. last — to go on
  11. deal — to handle
  12. wake — a trail
  13. rest — what's left
  14. spring — the season
  15. spring — of water
  16. last — finally
  17. rest — a break
  18. cell — a phone
  19. sharp — clever
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. game — wild animals
  22. spring — a coil
  23. game — a match
  24. deal — an agreement

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