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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. club — a group
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. rule — a law
  5. pop — to visit
  6. club — for dancing
  7. saw — the tool
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. spring — of water
  10. club — for golf
  11. spring — the season
  12. pop — music
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pop — soda
  15. band — a music group
  16. mark — a trace
  17. saw — the tool
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. spring — a coil
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. mark — a grade
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. band — a ring

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