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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bore · spring · ball · rule · ground · last

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. rule — a law
  4. last — to go on
  5. ground — the earth
  6. last — final
  7. ground — crushed
  8. ground — a position
  9. last — finally
  10. spring — of water
  11. spring — a coil
  12. ball — a great time
  13. ball — a dance
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. bore — to drill
  17. rule — government
  18. bore — to tire

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