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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 116 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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. spring — the season
  5. staff — employees
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. staff — a stick
  9. spring — a coil
  10. mine — for digging
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. spring — of water
  14. kick — in football
  15. net — in sport
  16. pass — a permit
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. bat — the animal
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. staff — employees
  22. net — after costs
  23. net — for catching
  24. rule — government

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