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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: tear · calf · chair · sharp · last · mark · drill · racket

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. drill — army training
  3. tear — from crying
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. last — finally
  6. chair — a leader
  7. mark — a trace
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. last — to go on
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. last — final
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. tear — to rip
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. drill — the tool
  18. sharp — clever
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. drill — a practice
  21. mark — a grade
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. calf — a young animal

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