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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: kick · leaves · cell · craft · sharp · bore · last · cold

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. cold — an illness
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. last — final
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. bore — to tire
  11. cell — in biology
  12. bore — to drill
  13. sharp — clever
  14. last — finally
  15. last — to go on
  16. kick — in football
  17. cold — not warm
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. cell — a phone
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. craft — a skill
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. cell — in a prison

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