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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. rule — a law
  3. rule — government
  4. mug — a face
  5. hand — help
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. spring — of water
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. spring — a coil
  11. prune — to trim
  12. mate — a partner
  13. mate — to breed
  14. prune — to trim
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. mate — a friend
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. mug — to rob
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. mug — a cup
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. mine — for digging
  24. spring — the season

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