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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. spring — the season
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. band — a ring
  6. degree — from a university
  7. degree — temperature
  8. cell — a phone
  9. band — a music group
  10. rule — government
  11. pop — music
  12. degree — an amount
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. mate — a partner
  15. spring — a coil
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pop — soda
  18. pop — to visit
  19. rule — a law
  20. mate — a friend
  21. spring — of water
  22. cell — in biology
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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