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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. spring — a coil
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. spring — the season
  5. cue — for pool
  6. spring — of water
  7. land — ground
  8. bat — the animal
  9. season — in sport
  10. land — a country
  11. season — of the year
  12. rule — government
  13. mine — for digging
  14. bound — tied together
  15. cue — a hint
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. cue — a signal
  18. rule — a law
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. bound — certain
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. mine — belonging to me
  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