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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: stand · last · racket · cold · root · sharp · calf · clip

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. sharp — clever
  4. cold — an illness
  5. last — finally
  6. last — final
  7. root — of a plant
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. clip — for paper
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. clip — a video
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. cold — not warm
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. clip — to cut
  20. last — to go on
  21. root — of a word
  22. root — the cause
  23. stand — to bear
  24. stand — for spectators

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