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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. rule — a law
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. bound — tied together
  5. sharp — clever
  6. land — ground
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. wound — an injury
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. bound — certain
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. wound — an injury
  14. rule — government
  15. land — a country
  16. hand — in cards
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. last — finally
  21. hand — help
  22. bound — obliged
  23. last — final
  24. last — to go on

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