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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. last — to go on
  3. roll — a cake
  4. present — the time now
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. spring — the season
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. present — there
  11. spring — of water
  12. rule — government
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. roll — a list
  15. sharp — clever
  16. last — finally
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. band — a ring
  19. last — final
  20. rule — a law
  21. band — a music group
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. present — a gift

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