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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. march — the month
  4. object — to protest
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. march — music
  9. bank — for money
  10. spring — the season
  11. march — the month
  12. spring — of water
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. season — of the year
  16. shower — rain
  17. spring — a coil
  18. bank — for money
  19. shower — to wash
  20. season — in sport
  21. rule — a law
  22. bank — of a river
  23. object — a thing
  24. object — an aim

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