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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. wind — moving air
  5. tube — a container
  6. rule — a law
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. track — a song
  9. spring — a coil
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. tube — the underground
  13. wind — moving air
  14. spring — the season
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. lie — to recline
  17. mine — for digging
  18. rule — government
  19. track — to keep track
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. track — a path
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. spring — of water

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