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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — a coil
  4. rule — government
  5. bat — the animal
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. current — of water
  8. current — electric
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. root — the cause
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. snap — to click
  14. cell — in biology
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. root — of a word
  17. current — happening now
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. spring — of water
  20. cell — a phone
  21. rule — a law
  22. root — of a plant
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. cell — in a prison

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