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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: calf · saw · rock · object · land · spell · sharp · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. rock — a stone
  3. sharp — clever
  4. rock — music
  5. object — to protest
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. land — ground
  8. land — to come down
  9. saw — the tool
  10. object — an aim
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. spell — letters
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. land — a country
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. kid — child
  18. saw — the tool
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. spell — a short time
  22. spell — magic
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. object — a thing

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