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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. rule — government
  3. bound — tied together
  4. staff — employees
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. staff — a stick
  8. rule — a law
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a music group
  11. kid — child
  12. bound — obliged
  13. staff — employees
  14. bound — certain
  15. spring — the season
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. spring — a coil
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. band — a ring
  23. kid — to tease
  24. straw — dry grass

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