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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. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mine — for digging
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. scale — size or range
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. pound — a weight
  13. file — a document
  14. cold — an illness
  15. sharp — clever
  16. scale — in music
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. file — a line of people
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. file — a tool
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. cold — not warm
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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