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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. face — to point toward
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. squash — to crush
  5. squash — the sport
  6. bound — certain
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. hand — help
  9. ground — a position
  10. cold — an illness
  11. sharp — clever
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. bound — tied together
  14. ground — the earth
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — not warm
  18. face — part of the head
  19. ground — crushed
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. face — to confront
  22. bound — obliged
  23. hand — in cards
  24. ruler — a monarch

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