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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. spring — of water
  5. cell — a phone
  6. rule — a law
  7. pop — to visit
  8. pop — soda
  9. spring — the season
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. board — to get on
  12. mate — a friend
  13. swing — in golf
  14. spring — a coil
  15. cell — in biology
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. pop — music
  18. mate — a partner
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. mate — to breed
  21. bat — the animal
  22. swing — to play on
  23. board — a committee
  24. rule — government

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