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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. rush — hurry
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. spring — a coil
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. spring — of water
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. rule — government
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. rule — a law
  13. ball — a dance
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. hand — in cards
  16. spring — the season
  17. ball — a great time
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. row — a line
  20. hand — help
  21. pop — music
  22. pop — soda
  23. row — to paddle
  24. row — a quarrel

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