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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. band — a ring
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. spring — a coil
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. face — to point toward
  8. rule — government
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. band — a music group
  11. season — in sport
  12. face — part of the head
  13. spring — of water
  14. spring — the season
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. spell — letters
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. spell — magic
  19. face — to confront
  20. net — for catching
  21. spell — a short time
  22. season — of the year
  23. net — after costs
  24. net — in sport

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