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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. spring — of water
  4. spring — a coil
  5. kick — in football
  6. march — the month
  7. band — a ring
  8. hand — in cards
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. rule — government
  11. can — to be able to
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. face — to point toward
  15. band — a music group
  16. march — the month
  17. spring — the season
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. face — part of the head
  20. face — to confront
  21. can — a tin
  22. march — music
  23. rule — a law
  24. hand — help

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