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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 120 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: bat · present · cue · pop · spring · rule · calf · hand

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. present — the time now
  4. cue — a hint
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. spring — of water
  7. pop — to visit
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. present — there
  10. spring — a coil
  11. bat — the animal
  12. pop — soda
  13. pop — music
  14. rule — a law
  15. rule — government
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. hand — in cards
  21. cue — for pool
  22. hand — help
  23. present — a gift
  24. cue — a signal

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