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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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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: sharp · rest · chair · land · calf · tear · snap · bass

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. chair — a leader
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. land — to come down
  9. tear — from crying
  10. land — a country
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. bass — the fish
  13. snap — to click
  14. rest — a break
  15. land — ground
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. rest — what's left
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — to rip
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. rest — what's left
  23. sharp — clever
  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