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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. ground — the earth
  3. spring — the season
  4. date — the fruit
  5. rule — government
  6. ground — a position
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. rash — a series
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. spring — a coil
  14. rule — a law
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. rash — hasty
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. ground — crushed

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