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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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. sharp — exactly
  4. fall — the season
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. row — to paddle
  7. hand — in cards
  8. fork — in a road
  9. sharp — clever
  10. hand — help
  11. rule — a law
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. row — a line
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. bore — to drill
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. fall — to drop
  19. bore — to tire
  20. rule — government
  21. spring — a coil
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. fall — to drop
  24. sharp — with an edge

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