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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. spring — of water
  3. spring — the season
  4. rash — a series
  5. track — a path
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. chair — a leader
  8. board — a committee
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. hand — help
  11. track — to keep track
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. board — to get on
  14. hand — in cards
  15. track — a song
  16. spring — a coil
  17. rule — government
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. rule — a law
  20. can — to be able to
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. can — a tin
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. can — a tin

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