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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: cell · sharp · net · rest · foot · land · rash · spring

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. cell — a phone
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. net — in sport
  5. foot — a measure
  6. spring — a coil
  7. spring — of water
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. rash — hasty
  10. land — to come down
  11. spring — the season
  12. net — after costs
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. land — a country
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. net — for catching
  17. rash — a series
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. rest — a break
  20. rest — what's left
  21. sharp — clever
  22. land — ground
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. cell — in biology

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