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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. hand — help
  3. net — in sport
  4. rule — government
  5. club — a group
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. net — after costs
  10. net — for catching
  11. club — for golf
  12. object — a thing
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. hand — in cards
  15. object — to protest
  16. rule — a law
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. club — for dancing
  19. lie — to recline
  20. object — an aim
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. spring — of water
  24. spring — the season

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