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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 116 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. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. mug — to rob
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. spring — a coil
  5. spring — of water
  6. file — a document
  7. file — a tool
  8. game — a match
  9. rash — hasty
  10. mug — a face
  11. wake — a trail
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. face — to confront
  14. face — part of the head
  15. file — a line of people
  16. face — to point toward
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. game — wild animals
  20. rash — a series
  21. mug — a cup
  22. mark — a grade
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. mark — a trace

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