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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. spring — the season
  3. swing — to play on
  4. rule — government
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. key — for a lock
  10. rule — a law
  11. net — after costs
  12. key — in music
  13. spring — of water
  14. key — the most important part
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. spring — a coil
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. net — in sport
  20. net — for catching
  21. swing — in golf
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. swing — music

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