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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 120 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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  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 — of water
  2. squash — the sport
  3. club — for golf
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. face — to point toward
  6. bore — to tire
  7. club — a group
  8. face — part of the head
  9. band — a music group
  10. fine — all right
  11. fine — high quality
  12. rule — government
  13. face — to confront
  14. band — a ring
  15. spring — a coil
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. rule — a law
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. squash — to crush
  20. club — for dancing
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. bore — to drill
  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