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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. bound — obliged
  3. row — a line
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. bass — the fish
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. last — finally
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. sharp — clever
  10. spring — the season
  11. bass — low music
  12. last — to go on
  13. spring — of water
  14. snap — to click
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. row — to paddle
  17. spring — a coil
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. bound — certain
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. last — final
  22. bound — tied together
  23. chair — a leader
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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