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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 124 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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. cell — a phone
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. sharp — clever
  8. cell — in biology
  9. capital — money
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. capital — a city
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. rash — a series
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. chip — to eat
  23. mine — for digging
  24. chip — for betting

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