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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 116 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: mine · sharp · cabinet · land · bear · kid · cold · craft

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. sharp — clever
  4. land — a country
  5. land — to come down
  6. kid — child
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — not warm
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. land — ground
  14. bear — the animal
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. mine — for digging
  17. craft — boats
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. kid — to tease
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. craft — a skill
  24. bear — the 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