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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. cold — an illness
  3. game — wild animals
  4. rest — what's left
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. rest — what's left
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. spring — the season
  10. spring — a coil
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. game — a match
  15. snap — to click
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. rest — a break
  21. rule — government
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. rule — a law
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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