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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: temple · present · rule · spring · straw · wind · track · hand

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. wind — moving air
  4. present — the time now
  5. wind — moving air
  6. spring — a coil
  7. hand — in cards
  8. track — to keep track
  9. rule — government
  10. track — a path
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. track — a song
  16. present — a gift
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. hand — help
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. rule — a law
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. present — there
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. spring — the season

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