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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 train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. face — to point toward
  3. rule — a law
  4. ball — a dance
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. pop — to visit
  7. spring — a coil
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. spring — of water
  15. spring — the season
  16. rule — government
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. face — to confront
  20. pop — soda
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. face — part of the head
  23. ball — a great time
  24. pop — music

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