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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. swing — in golf
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. bat — the animal
  7. object — to protest
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. object — a thing
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bound — obliged
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. sharp — clever
  15. swing — to play on
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. row — a line
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. row — to paddle
  20. bound — certain
  21. bound — tied together
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. object — an aim
  24. swing — music

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