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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 120 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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. tear — from crying
  5. rule — a law
  6. perch — the fish
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bound — tied together
  11. rule — government
  12. swing — music
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. swing — to play on
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. tear — from crying
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. tear — to rip
  22. bound — obliged
  23. swing — in golf
  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