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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. spring — of water
  3. mine — for digging
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. game — a match
  7. rule — a law
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. bat — the animal
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. bound — obliged
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. rule — government
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. bound — tied together
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. bound — certain
  20. game — wild animals
  21. band — a music group
  22. band — a ring
  23. spring — the season
  24. mouse — the animal

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