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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. rule — government
  3. rush — hurry
  4. land — ground
  5. rule — a law
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. swing — to play on
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. swing — in golf
  11. bore — to tire
  12. spring — of water
  13. spring — a coil
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. bore — to drill
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. tube — a container
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. swing — music
  20. land — to come down
  21. tube — the underground
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. land — a country
  24. bore — gave birth

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