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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: kid · bear · mine · net · wound · lean · rule · sharp

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. bear — the animal
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. kid — to tease
  5. rule — a law
  6. wound — an injury
  7. lean — to bend
  8. net — after costs
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. mine — for digging
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. sharp — clever
  16. net — for catching
  17. wound — an injury
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. kid — child
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. bear — the animal
  22. rule — government
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. net — in sport

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