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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. object — a thing
  3. rule — a law
  4. spring — a coil
  5. spell — a short time
  6. spring — of water
  7. object — to protest
  8. present — there
  9. bound — obliged
  10. bound — tied together
  11. spring — the season
  12. present — a gift
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. spell — magic
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. object — an aim
  20. bat — the animal
  21. present — the time now
  22. spell — letters
  23. rule — government
  24. bound — certain

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