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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 chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. rule — government
  3. spring — a coil
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. spring — of water
  6. degree — from a university
  7. field — for sport
  8. degree — temperature
  9. staff — a stick
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. field — a subject
  13. bass — the fish
  14. degree — an amount
  15. staff — employees
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. band — a ring
  18. staff — employees
  19. band — a music group
  20. bass — low music
  21. rule — a law
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. field — farmland
  24. spring — the season

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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