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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. last — finally
  3. rule — government
  4. spring — a coil
  5. spring — the season
  6. current — happening now
  7. last — to go on
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. bore — to tire
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. current — of water
  15. rule — a law
  16. bore — to drill
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. rock — a stone
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. last — final
  22. pound — a weight
  23. current — electric
  24. spring — of water

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