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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. game — wild animals
  3. fine — all right
  4. bound — obliged
  5. present — the time now
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. hand — help
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. board — to get on
  10. sharp — clever
  11. bound — tied together
  12. mine — for digging
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. game — a match
  17. board — a committee
  18. bound — certain
  19. present — a gift
  20. present — there
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. fine — high quality
  23. hand — in cards
  24. board — a flat piece

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