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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: roll · spring · can · rule · rock · cell · stick · club

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rock — a stone
  3. can — a tin
  4. spring — the season
  5. can — a tin
  6. club — for golf
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. spring — of water
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. can — to be able to
  11. roll — a cake
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. roll — a list
  14. rule — government
  15. club — a group
  16. club — for dancing
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. spring — a coil
  20. cell — a phone
  21. rule — a law
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cell — in biology
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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