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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. spring — of water
  4. present — there
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — an injury
  7. track — a song
  8. lie — to recline
  9. rule — a law
  10. present — the time now
  11. swing — to play on
  12. present — a gift
  13. swing — in golf
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. spring — a coil
  17. swing — music
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. track — a path
  20. cold — not warm
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. track — to keep track
  23. rule — government
  24. cold — an illness

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