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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. spring — of water
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. spring — the season
  5. fall — the season
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. fall — to drop
  10. rash — hasty
  11. degree — from a university
  12. spring — a coil
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. rule — government
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. rule — a law
  18. lie — to recline
  19. rash — a series
  20. degree — temperature
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. fall — to drop
  23. degree — an amount
  24. ball — a dance

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