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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 120 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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. hand — in cards
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. scale — size or range
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. fork — in a road
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. scale — in music
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. hand — help
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. spring — the season
  18. spring — a coil
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. rule — government
  21. rule — a law
  22. kick — in football
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. leaves — to go away

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