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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. spring — of water
  3. swing — in golf
  4. mug — a cup
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. pop — music
  7. swing — music
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. pop — to visit
  10. cold — an illness
  11. mug — to rob
  12. board — a committee
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. spring — a coil
  15. rest — a break
  16. board — to get on
  17. swing — to play on
  18. rule — a law
  19. spring — the season
  20. mug — a face
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rest — what's left
  23. cold — not warm
  24. pop — soda

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