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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. bound — tied together
  3. sharp — clever
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wind — moving air
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. wind — moving air
  9. hand — help
  10. club — for golf
  11. rush — hurry
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. bound — obliged
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. club — for dancing
  16. club — a group
  17. perch — the fish
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bound — certain

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