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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 124 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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. rush — hurry
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. toast — bread
  7. ground — crushed
  8. spring — a coil
  9. rule — a law
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. spring — of water
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. ground — the earth
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. spring — the season
  17. hand — in cards
  18. rule — government
  19. ground — a position
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. hand — help
  24. straw — a straw man

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