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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  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 — to rule out
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. spring — of water
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. pit — in a race
  7. chair — a leader
  8. pop — to visit
  9. spring — the season
  10. pop — soda
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. pop — music
  13. row — a line
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. cell — in biology
  16. pit — a hole
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. row — to paddle
  19. spring — a coil
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. cell — a phone
  22. rule — a law
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  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