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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. land — to come down
  4. bass — the fish
  5. bound — certain
  6. bass — low music
  7. bound — obliged
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. bound — tied together
  10. rule — a law
  11. rule — government
  12. capital — money
  13. sharp — clever
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. hand — in cards
  16. rash — a series
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. rash — hasty
  20. capital — a city
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. hand — help
  23. land — ground
  24. land — a country

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