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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. sharp — clever
  3. rule — government
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. row — a line
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. rule — a law
  9. wind — moving air
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. net — in sport
  12. season — in sport
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — a phone
  17. row — to paddle
  18. net — for catching
  19. net — after costs
  20. rash — a series
  21. season — of the year
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. wind — moving air
  24. rash — hasty

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