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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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. cold — not warm
  5. game — wild animals
  6. cap — a lid
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. spring — a coil
  9. spring — the season
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. rule — a law
  12. game — a match
  13. bank — for money
  14. spring — of water
  15. cold — an illness
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. cap — a hat
  22. cap — of ice
  23. bank — for money
  24. rule — government

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