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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: row · mate · chair · land · rule · sharp · pit · lean

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. mate — a friend
  3. rule — government
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. land — to come down
  8. lean — to bend
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. rule — a law
  11. row — to paddle
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. lean — thin
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. chair — a leader
  17. land — a country
  18. pit — a hole
  19. mate — to breed
  20. land — ground
  21. mate — a partner
  22. sharp — clever
  23. row — a line
  24. pit — in a race

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