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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: staff · spell · scale · clip · calf · sharp · stock · cold

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  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. spell — letters
  2. scale — size or range
  3. scale — in music
  4. clip — a video
  5. spell — magic
  6. sharp — clever
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. stock — goods
  9. staff — a stick
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. clip — for paper
  12. stock — shares
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. spell — a short time
  17. clip — to cut
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cold — an illness
  22. staff — employees
  23. staff — employees
  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