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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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. last — to go on
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. last — final
  6. spring — a coil
  7. saw — the tool
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. spring — the season
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. bear — the animal
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. last — finally
  14. bear — the animal
  15. rule — government
  16. rule — a law
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. saw — the tool
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — help
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. dip — to sink

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