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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. wound — an injury
  3. land — a country
  4. rule — a law
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. land — ground
  11. wake — a trail
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. rule — government
  21. land — to come down
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. kick — in football
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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