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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: hand · kid · stock · spell · swing · calf · sharp · rest

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. spell — letters
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. sharp — clever
  6. kid — to tease
  7. swing — to play on
  8. kid — child
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rest — what's left
  13. spell — magic
  14. rest — a break
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. spell — a short time
  18. hand — in cards
  19. hand — help
  20. stock — goods
  21. swing — music
  22. stock — shares
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. swing — in golf

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