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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — a coil
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. net — in sport
  5. net — for catching
  6. track — to keep track
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. degree — temperature
  9. net — after costs
  10. degree — an amount
  11. spring — the season
  12. court — of a king
  13. bulb — for light
  14. rule — government
  15. track — a path
  16. bulb — for light
  17. court — for sport
  18. court — of law
  19. degree — from a university
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. lie — to recline
  23. track — a song
  24. rule — a law

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