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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. pound — a weight
  4. clip — to cut
  5. rule — government
  6. clip — for paper
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. mate — a partner
  9. clip — a video
  10. wind — moving air
  11. mate — to breed
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. fork — in a road
  14. rule — a law
  15. mate — a friend
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. object — an aim
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. object — to protest
  23. object — a thing
  24. wind — moving air

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