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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. last — finally
  3. mug — a cup
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. last — final
  6. rule — government
  7. rule — a law
  8. bound — certain
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. mug — to rob
  11. hand — in cards
  12. spring — the season
  13. mug — a face
  14. last — to go on
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. hand — help
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. bound — obliged
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. spring — a coil
  21. kick — in football
  22. bound — tied together
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. hand — part of the body

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