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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 not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. rule — a law
  3. bound — obliged
  4. bound — certain
  5. net — in sport
  6. bound — tied together
  7. rash — hasty
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. squash — to crush
  10. rule — government
  11. track — to keep track
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. net — after costs
  16. track — a song
  17. wound — an injury
  18. track — a path
  19. rash — a series
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. squash — the sport
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. net — for catching

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