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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. rock — music
  4. spring — of water
  5. rush — hurry
  6. rule — government
  7. rule — a law
  8. last — final
  9. last — to go on
  10. land — ground
  11. dip — to sink
  12. stock — goods
  13. spring — the season
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. last — finally
  17. spring — a coil
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. rock — a stone
  20. stock — shares
  21. land — a country
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. land — to come down

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