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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. spring — the season
  3. bass — the fish
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. face — part of the head
  7. face — to confront
  8. rule — a law
  9. face — to point toward
  10. cold — not warm
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. rule — government
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. club — a group
  16. spring — of water
  17. bass — low music
  18. march — the month
  19. club — for golf
  20. march — music
  21. club — for dancing
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. march — the month
  24. rule — to rule out

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