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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. cell — a phone
  4. mark — a grade
  5. cap — a hat
  6. spring — a coil
  7. lean — thin
  8. spring — of water
  9. mark — a trace
  10. cap — of ice
  11. spring — the season
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. lean — to bend
  16. rule — a law
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. rule — government
  20. cell — in biology
  21. wake — a trail
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cap — a lid
  24. ruler — for measuring

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