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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 chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. snap — to click
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. march — the month
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bound — certain
  8. rule — a law
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. march — the month
  13. rule — government
  14. band — a ring
  15. court — for sport
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. bound — obliged
  18. bound — tied together
  19. bore — to drill
  20. court — of law
  21. bore — to tire
  22. march — music
  23. court — of a king
  24. band — a music group

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