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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  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 — with an edge
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. sharp — clever
  5. band — a music group
  6. band — a ring
  7. kick — in football
  8. chest — of your body
  9. mine — for digging
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. rule — a law
  12. bass — low music
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. chest — of your body
  15. bound — tied together
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. rule — government
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. chest — a box
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. bound — certain
  22. bass — the fish
  23. bound — obliged
  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