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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. spring — of water
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. spring — a coil
  6. chair — a leader
  7. mine — for digging
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a ring
  11. mate — to breed
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. bear — the animal
  15. rule — government
  16. spring — the season
  17. bear — the animal
  18. mate — a friend
  19. rule — a law
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. mate — a partner
  23. stem — to come from
  24. mine — belonging to me

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