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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 120 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: fall · pass · hand · board · calf · sharp · wound · content

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. fall — to drop
  3. sharp — clever
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. board — to get on
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wound — an injury
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. hand — in cards
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. board — a committee
  14. hand — help
  15. fall — to drop
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. fall — the season
  19. content — the amount
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. pass — a permit
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. wound — an injury

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