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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. pit — in a race
  4. rash — a series
  5. degree — an amount
  6. bound — certain
  7. spring — a coil
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. bound — tied together
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. band — a ring
  14. rash — hasty
  15. degree — temperature
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. pit — a hole
  18. band — a music group
  19. bound — obliged
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. saw — the tool
  22. spring — the season
  23. degree — from a university
  24. saw — the tool

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