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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — a coil
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. board — a committee
  6. board — to get on
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. date — the fruit
  12. deal — to handle
  13. bound — certain
  14. ball — a great time
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bound — tied together
  17. mine — for digging
  18. ball — a dance
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. wake — a trail
  24. deal — a big deal

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