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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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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: tear · pass · sharp · kick · cell · wake · land · ruler

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. land — to come down
  3. land — a country
  4. cell — a phone
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. wake — a trail
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — to rip
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. cell — in biology
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pass — a permit
  17. kick — in football
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. land — ground
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. kick — a thrill

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