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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 116 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: pop · net · spell · kid · cabinet · bowl · sharp · tear

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. spell — a short time
  5. pop — to visit
  6. tear — from crying
  7. pop — soda
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. pop — music
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. net — for catching
  13. kid — to tease
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. net — after costs
  16. spell — magic
  17. sharp — clever
  18. spell — letters
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. net — in sport
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. kid — child

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