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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: fall · season · hand · tear · spring · game · scale · rule

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. game — a match
  3. spring — of water
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. scale — size or range
  6. rule — government
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. spring — a coil
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. season — in sport
  11. game — wild animals
  12. fall — to drop
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. season — of the year
  15. fall — the season
  16. fall — to drop
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. scale — in music
  20. rule — a law
  21. spring — the season
  22. tear — from crying
  23. hand — help
  24. hand — part of the body

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