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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. rule — a law
  4. pit — in a race
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. sharp — clever
  7. pit — a hole
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. land — a country
  10. ball — a dance
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. rule — government
  14. spring — a coil
  15. bear — the animal
  16. land — ground
  17. ball — a great time
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. spring — of water
  21. bat — the animal
  22. spring — the season
  23. bat — for baseball
  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