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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. clip — for paper
  3. land — to come down
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. land — ground
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. bound — tied together
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. land — a country
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. clip — a video
  14. last — finally
  15. clip — to cut
  16. bound — certain
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. last — to go on
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. pitch — completely
  22. sharp — clever
  23. last — final
  24. bound — obliged

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