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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. pop — to visit
  3. pop — music
  4. spring — of water
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. rest — what's left
  7. ball — a great time
  8. ball — a dance
  9. object — a thing
  10. cold — an illness
  11. pop — soda
  12. spring — a coil
  13. object — to protest
  14. land — a country
  15. land — ground
  16. face — part of the head
  17. face — to point toward
  18. cold — not warm
  19. rest — a break
  20. object — an aim
  21. spring — the season
  22. land — to come down
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. face — to confront

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