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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. game — a match
  3. spring — the season
  4. rest — what's left
  5. charge — a price
  6. spring — of water
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. rest — what's left
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. stock — goods
  11. band — a ring
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. charge — in control
  14. band — a music group
  15. face — part of the head
  16. spring — a coil
  17. face — to point toward
  18. game — wild animals
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. sharp — clever
  22. face — to confront
  23. stock — shares
  24. charge — electricity

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