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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: tube · spring · calf · hand · date · leaves · sharp · ground

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. hand — in cards
  6. spring — of water
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. hand — help
  9. tube — a container
  10. spring — a coil
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. ground — crushed
  13. spring — the season
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. date — the fruit
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. sharp — clever
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. ground — the earth
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. ground — a position
  22. tube — the underground
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. leaves — of a tree

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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