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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: game · bay · trunk · bear · sharp · stem · key · rest

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. game — wild animals
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. key — for a lock
  6. sharp — clever
  7. bear — the animal
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. rest — what's left
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. game — a match
  12. rest — a break
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. key — the most important part
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. stem — to come from
  22. key — in music
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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