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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. rest — what's left
  3. spring — the season
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. land — to come down
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. rest — what's left
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. land — a country
  10. rule — government
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. pitch — completely
  13. rest — a break
  14. field — farmland
  15. bat — the animal
  16. field — for sport
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. field — a subject
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. rule — a law
  22. land — ground
  23. spring — a coil
  24. pound — a weight

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