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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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. face — part of the head
  4. rule — a law
  5. kid — to tease
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. spring — a coil
  9. face — to confront
  10. rule — government
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. kid — child
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. plane — a tool
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. mine — for digging
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. face — to point toward
  24. mine — belonging to me

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