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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. spring — of water
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. swing — in golf
  5. row — to paddle
  6. spring — a coil
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. kid — child
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. kid — to tease
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. rule — a law
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. swing — to play on
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. spring — the season
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. row — a line
  23. pound — a weight
  24. swing — music

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