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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. wind — moving air
  3. sharp — clever
  4. wound — an injury
  5. lie — to recline
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. net — after costs
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. row — a line
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. net — for catching
  14. wind — moving air
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. bound — tied together
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. bound — certain
  20. bound — obliged
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. date — the fruit
  23. wound — an injury
  24. net — in sport

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