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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 would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. rest — what's left
  3. land — ground
  4. tube — a container
  5. sharp — clever
  6. rule — government
  7. perch — the fish
  8. land — to come down
  9. tube — the underground
  10. object — to protest
  11. rest — what's left
  12. object — a thing
  13. object — an aim
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. bound — tied together
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. rule — a law
  20. bound — obliged
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. bound — certain
  24. land — a country

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