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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: rest · tube · rule · spring · firm · straw · ground · court

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  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. rest — what's left
  2. ground — a position
  3. spring — the season
  4. court — of law
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. rule — a law
  7. rest — a break
  8. rest — what's left
  9. court — of a king
  10. rule — government
  11. ground — crushed
  12. spring — a coil
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. ground — the earth
  15. firm — a company
  16. tube — the underground
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. tube — a container
  19. firm — steady
  20. court — for sport
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. firm — decided
  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