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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. cold — an illness
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. band — a ring
  6. band — a music group
  7. spell — a short time
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. staff — employees
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. cue — a signal
  12. cue — a hint
  13. spell — letters
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cue — for pool
  16. staff — a stick
  17. staff — employees
  18. rule — a law
  19. cold — not warm
  20. spring — a coil
  21. spring — the season
  22. rule — government
  23. spell — magic
  24. band — a rubber band

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