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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. rock — music
  5. pop — to visit
  6. rule — a law
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. spring — the season
  10. spell — letters
  11. rock — a stone
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. spell — magic
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. spring — a coil
  18. rule — government
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. pop — soda
  21. pop — music
  22. snap — to click
  23. spring — of water
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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