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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. spell — magic
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. bound — certain
  8. rule — a law
  9. spell — letters
  10. root — of a plant
  11. game — a match
  12. spring — the season
  13. rule — government
  14. lean — thin
  15. lean — to bend
  16. bound — obliged
  17. game — wild animals
  18. bound — tied together
  19. root — the cause
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. spring — a coil
  22. root — of a word
  23. dip — to sink
  24. spell — a short time

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