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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. spring — of water
  3. rule — government
  4. root — the cause
  5. game — wild animals
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. spring — a coil
  8. can — a tin
  9. can — to be able to
  10. shower — to wash
  11. game — a match
  12. mate — a partner
  13. can — a tin
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. mate — to breed
  16. root — of a plant
  17. shower — rain
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. root — of a word
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. mate — a friend
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. rule — a law
  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