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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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Word bank
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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: clip · rule · spring · bank · bat · land · game · mark

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. mark — a trace
  3. spring — a coil
  4. land — ground
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. spring — of water
  7. rule — government
  8. game — wild animals
  9. spring — the season
  10. mark — a grade
  11. game — a match
  12. land — to come down
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. clip — for paper
  16. bank — for money
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. clip — a video
  19. bat — the animal
  20. rule — a law
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bank — for money
  23. bank — of a river
  24. land — a country

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