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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: hand · object · kick · sharp · arm · saw · bear · scale

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. object — to protest
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. saw — the tool
  7. object — a thing
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — in cards
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. sharp — clever
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. scale — size or range
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. scale — in music
  20. object — an aim
  21. bear — the animal
  22. kick — in football
  23. bear — the animal
  24. saw — the tool

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