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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. band — a music group
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. pop — to visit
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. pop — music
  7. spring — of water
  8. band — a ring
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. pop — soda
  12. date — the fruit
  13. chip — to eat
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. rule — a law
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. rule — government
  20. spring — a coil
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. chip — for betting
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. date — on the calendar

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