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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  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. spring — of water
  2. last — to go on
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. root — the cause
  5. rule — government
  6. drill — a practice
  7. spring — the season
  8. swing — in golf
  9. swing — to play on
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. pass — a permit
  12. drill — the tool
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. last — finally
  15. rule — a law
  16. date — the fruit
  17. root — of a plant
  18. drill — army training
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. root — of a word
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. last — final
  23. swing — music
  24. spring — a coil

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