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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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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: pound · fall · mine · perch · calf · rule · roll · sharp

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. fall — the season
  3. mine — for digging
  4. rule — a law
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. pound — a weight
  9. roll — a cake
  10. fall — to drop
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. rule — government
  13. fall — to drop
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. roll — a list
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. perch — the fish
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. perch — for a bird

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