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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. land — a country
  4. rule — government
  5. spring — a coil
  6. chest — a box
  7. deal — to handle
  8. spring — of water
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. court — of law
  13. rule — a law
  14. chest — of your body
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. chest — of your body
  17. court — for sport
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. land — ground
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. court — of a king
  23. land — to come down
  24. fan — a supporter

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