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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 116 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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. tear — from crying
  4. net — for catching
  5. bound — tied together
  6. net — in sport
  7. bound — obliged
  8. rash — a series
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. lean — thin
  11. vault — a safe
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. chair — a leader
  14. net — after costs
  15. tear — from crying
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. rash — hasty
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. bound — certain
  21. tear — to rip
  22. rule — government
  23. lean — to bend
  24. lean — to rest against

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