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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. bat — the animal
  3. mine — for digging
  4. key — for a lock
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. band — a music group
  7. spring — the season
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. rule — government
  11. band — a ring
  12. spring — of water
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. land — ground
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. key — the most important part
  19. rule — a law
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. land — a country
  23. land — to come down
  24. key — in music

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