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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · cold · saw · rash · mine · present · sharp · mug

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. saw — the tool
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. bound — tied together
  6. saw — the tool
  7. mug — to rob
  8. present — there
  9. cold — an illness
  10. mug — a face
  11. cold — not warm
  12. rash — hasty
  13. bound — obliged
  14. present — the time now
  15. mug — a cup
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. mine — for digging
  19. bound — certain
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. present — a gift
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. rash — a series

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