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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. spring — a coil
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. spring — the season
  5. rest — what's left
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. rest — what's left
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. sharp — clever
  10. band — a music group
  11. band — a ring
  12. spring — of water
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. scale — in music
  19. cold — an illness
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. scale — size or range
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. cold — not warm
  24. band — a rubber band

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