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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. track — a path
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. track — to keep track
  6. sharp — clever
  7. bound — tied together
  8. saw — the tool
  9. rule — government
  10. saw — the tool
  11. bound — obliged
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. track — a song
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cell — in biology
  16. ground — the earth
  17. bound — certain
  18. land — ground
  19. land — a country
  20. ground — a position
  21. cell — a phone
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. rule — a law
  24. land — to come down

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