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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. net — after costs
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. tube — a container
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. chip — for betting
  8. sharp — clever
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. wound — an injury
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. tube — the underground
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. rush — hurry
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. wound — an injury
  17. mine — for digging
  18. net — for catching
  19. net — in sport
  20. rule — government
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. chip — to eat
  24. mine — an explosive

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