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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: fine · rule · pitcher · ground · rash · bulb · spring · arm

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. rash — a series
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. fine — all right
  5. bulb — for light
  6. fine — high quality
  7. ground — the earth
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. ground — crushed
  10. rule — government
  11. bulb — for light
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. spring — the season
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. ground — a position
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. rash — hasty
  23. spring — a coil
  24. spring — of water

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