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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. spring — of water
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. swing — to play on
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. spring — the season
  8. mate — a friend
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. swing — in golf
  11. race — the arms race
  12. mate — a partner
  13. last — final
  14. last — to go on
  15. race — a contest
  16. race — humankind
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. game — a match
  20. game — wild animals
  21. mate — to breed
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. swing — music
  24. last — finally

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