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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  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. rule — government
  2. spring — a coil
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. spring — the season
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. rock — music
  8. bound — obliged
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. row — a line
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. hand — in cards
  14. row — to paddle
  15. bound — certain
  16. stem — to come from
  17. rule — a law
  18. hand — help
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. rock — a stone
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. bound — tied together
  23. stem — of a plant
  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