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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. bound — obliged
  3. club — for dancing
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. rule — a law
  6. bank — for money
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. rash — a series
  9. bound — certain
  10. shower — rain
  11. game — wild animals
  12. club — a group
  13. shower — to wash
  14. bank — for money
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. club — for golf
  17. bound — tied together
  18. bat — the animal
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. rule — government
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. bank — of a river
  23. game — a match
  24. bat — for baseball

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