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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: wave · cell · bore · wound · rule · firm · sharp · net

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. rule — government
  3. firm — steady
  4. firm — a company
  5. net — after costs
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. cell — a phone
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. sharp — clever
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. wound — an injury
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. net — in sport
  17. bore — to drill
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bore — to tire
  20. rule — a law
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. firm — decided
  23. cell — in biology
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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