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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: nail · calf · cabinet · fall · hand · sharp · date · field

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. fall — the season
  5. fall — to drop
  6. date — the fruit
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. field — farmland
  10. fall — to drop
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. hand — help
  15. field — a subject
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. hand — in cards
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. field — for sport
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. sharp — clever
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. cabinet — ministers

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