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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. bound — certain
  3. rule — a law
  4. bound — obliged
  5. sharp — clever
  6. spell — letters
  7. wind — moving air
  8. mine — for digging
  9. spell — a short time
  10. lie — to recline
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. wind — moving air
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. bound — tied together
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. spell — magic
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. rash — hasty
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. rule — government
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. rash — a series

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