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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: jam · spring · date · mouse · cold · roll · kick · rule

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. roll — a list
  3. cold — not warm
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. cold — an illness
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. date — the fruit
  11. roll — a cake
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. spring — of water
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. spring — the season
  18. rule — government
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. kick — in football
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. rule — a law

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