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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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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: bound · bulb · chip · sharp · rash · net · mate · cell

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. cell — a phone
  3. bound — certain
  4. net — after costs
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. mate — a partner
  7. bulb — for light
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. net — for catching
  10. bound — obliged
  11. net — in sport
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. chip — to eat
  14. bulb — for light
  15. bound — tied together
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. rash — a series
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. sharp — clever
  20. chip — for betting
  21. rash — hasty
  22. mate — a friend
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. cell — in biology

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