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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. pop — music
  3. court — of a king
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. file — a tool
  6. court — for sport
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. rule — government
  9. pop — soda
  10. spring — of water
  11. court — of law
  12. deal — to handle
  13. file — a document
  14. spring — a coil
  15. row — a line
  16. row — to paddle
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. spring — the season
  19. file — a line of people
  20. pop — to visit
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. rule — a law
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. rule — to rule out

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