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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. spring — of water
  3. track — a song
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. track — a path
  7. mine — for digging
  8. lean — thin
  9. spell — letters
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. firm — steady
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. track — to keep track
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. spell — magic
  16. rule — government
  17. sharp — clever
  18. firm — a company
  19. rule — a law
  20. spring — the season
  21. spell — a short time
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. lean — to bend
  24. spring — a coil

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