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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 120 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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. mark — a grade
  3. spell — letters
  4. spring — the season
  5. race — humankind
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. cold — not warm
  8. spring — a coil
  9. rule — a law
  10. spell — a short time
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. dip — to sink
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — the arms race
  15. rule — government
  16. mark — a trace
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. current — happening now
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. current — of water
  22. spell — magic
  23. current — electric
  24. mark — to pay attention

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