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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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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. rule — government
  4. rest — what's left
  5. wind — moving air
  6. ball — a great time
  7. race — the arms race
  8. perch — the fish
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. race — humankind
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. sharp — clever
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. wind — moving air
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. race — a contest
  17. rest — a break
  18. rule — a law
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. rest — what's left
  21. ball — a dance
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. rule — to rule out

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