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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: lean · rule · roll · shower · straw · ball · pit · spring

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. roll — a cake
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. spring — the season
  6. spring — of water
  7. shower — rain
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. rule — government
  10. roll — a list
  11. spring — a coil
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. ball — a great time
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. lean — to bend
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. rule — a law
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. pit — in a race
  21. lean — thin
  22. shower — to wash
  23. pit — a hole
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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