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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. rest — what's left
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. club — for golf
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. rule — government
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. club — for dancing
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. wound — an injury
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rule — a law
  19. wound — an injury
  20. capital — a city
  21. rest — a break
  22. capital — money
  23. club — a group
  24. sharp — exactly

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