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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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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: mark · sharp · cap · hand · temple · ground · kid · last

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. ground — crushed
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. mark — a grade
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. hand — help
  7. last — finally
  8. kid — child
  9. ground — the earth
  10. ground — a position
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. cap — of ice
  13. last — to go on
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. hand — in cards
  17. sharp — clever
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. kid — to tease
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. cap — a lid
  22. mark — a trace
  23. cap — a hat
  24. temple — a place of worship

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