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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  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. mug — a face
  2. roll — a cake
  3. spring — of water
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. hand — help
  6. march — music
  7. firm — steady
  8. rule — a law
  9. mug — to rob
  10. spring — the season
  11. march — the month
  12. mug — a cup
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. pound — a weight
  15. march — the month
  16. spring — a coil
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. roll — a list
  19. firm — a company
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. hand — in cards
  23. firm — decided
  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