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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. game — a match
  3. rule — government
  4. rule — a law
  5. suit — to fit
  6. game — wild animals
  7. tear — from crying
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. spring — of water
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. suit — clothes
  12. spring — a coil
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. cell — in biology
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. bass — low music
  17. cell — a phone
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. spring — the season
  20. tear — to rip
  21. kid — to tease
  22. tear — from crying
  23. suit — in cards
  24. kid — child

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