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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 116 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 ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. rule — government
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. last — to go on
  5. spring — the season
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. saw — the tool
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. rush — hurry
  10. rule — a law
  11. last — finally
  12. cold — not warm
  13. last — final
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. saw — the tool
  16. root — of a word
  17. spring — of water
  18. present — the time now
  19. present — a gift
  20. root — the cause
  21. cold — an illness
  22. present — there
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. spring — a coil

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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