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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — the season
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. rule — government
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. squash — the sport
  7. fall — to drop
  8. present — a gift
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. dip — to sink
  12. can — to be able to
  13. can — a tin
  14. fall — to drop
  15. present — there
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. squash — to crush
  18. present — the time now
  19. rule — a law
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. fall — the season
  23. can — a tin
  24. spring — a coil

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