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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: sharp · chair · calf · can · mine · lean · clip · spell

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  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. mine — an explosive
  2. spell — letters
  3. sharp — clever
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. lean — to bend
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. spell — magic
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. can — to be able to
  13. mine — for digging
  14. clip — to cut
  15. spell — a short time
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. chair — a leader
  18. lean — thin
  19. clip — a video
  20. can — a tin
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. can — a tin
  23. clip — for paper
  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