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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: cell · perch · kick · cap · band · dip · tear · sharp

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. band — a ring
  5. tear — to rip
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. cap — a hat
  8. dip — to sink
  9. cell — in biology
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. tear — from crying
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. tear — from crying
  15. cell — a phone
  16. sharp — clever
  17. cap — of ice
  18. cap — a lid
  19. band — a music group
  20. kick — in football
  21. perch — the fish
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. cell — in a prison

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