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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. bulb — for light
  3. court — for sport
  4. board — a committee
  5. bulb — for light
  6. court — of law
  7. file — a tool
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. file — a line of people
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. court — of a king
  14. rule — government
  15. board — to get on
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. file — a document
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. sharp — clever
  24. straw — dry grass

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