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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 124 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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — a coil
  4. bound — obliged
  5. bound — tied together
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. rule — government
  9. hand — help
  10. rule — a law
  11. deal — to handle
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. hand — in cards
  14. fall — the season
  15. spring — of water
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. bound — certain
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. fall — to drop
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. fall — to drop
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bat — in an idiom

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