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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 116 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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. rule — government
  3. spring — of water
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. fork — in a road
  6. field — for sport
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. rule — a law
  10. field — farmland
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. fall — the season
  13. rash — hasty
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. spring — the season
  16. fall — to drop
  17. field — a subject
  18. rash — a series
  19. wind — moving air
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. wind — moving air
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. fall — to drop

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