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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: rush · spring · kid · mine · rule · staff · file · ball

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. ball — a dance
  4. kid — child
  5. file — a tool
  6. file — a line of people
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. staff — employees
  9. spring — the season
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. rule — government
  12. spring — a coil
  13. rule — a law
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. ball — a great time
  16. staff — employees
  17. kid — to tease
  18. rush — hurry
  19. file — a document
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. staff — a stick
  23. spring — of water
  24. mine — for digging

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