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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: bat · stem · pitcher · sharp · wind · ruler · cold · bound

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. bat — the animal
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bound — obliged
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. stem — to come from
  10. sharp — clever
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. cold — an illness
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. bound — certain
  17. cold — not warm
  18. wind — moving air
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bound — tied together

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