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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 party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. rash — a series
  3. rule — government
  4. bank — for money
  5. key — for a lock
  6. shower — to wash
  7. key — in music
  8. sharp — clever
  9. shower — rain
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. net — for catching
  12. spring — the season
  13. key — the most important part
  14. rash — hasty
  15. rule — a law
  16. net — after costs
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. spring — a coil
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. bank — for money
  23. bank — of a river
  24. net — in sport

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