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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 120 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: kick · sharp · mine · trunk · leaves · bound · spell · game

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. bound — tied together
  4. sharp — clever
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. bound — obliged
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. game — wild animals
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. spell — a short time
  11. bound — certain
  12. spell — magic
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. mine — for digging
  15. spell — letters
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. game — a match
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. kick — in football
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. trunk — of a car

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