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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: bear · scale · mine · sharp · pound · game · calf · season

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a match
  3. sharp — clever
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. mine — for digging
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. bear — the animal
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. scale — in music
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. pound — a weight
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. season — of the year
  17. scale — size or range
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. season — in sport
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. bear — the 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