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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: face · spring · rush · mine · track · rule · fall · cell

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. fall — to drop
  3. rule — a law
  4. fall — to drop
  5. mine — for digging
  6. track — a song
  7. fall — the season
  8. rule — government
  9. spring — a coil
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cell — a phone
  12. track — a path
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. face — to confront
  15. track — to keep track
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. cell — in biology
  19. spring — of water
  20. rush — hurry
  21. face — to point toward
  22. spring — the season
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mine — an explosive

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