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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: ground · lean · roll · spring · rule · shower · hand · object

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. shower — to wash
  3. object — an aim
  4. lean — to bend
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. ground — a position
  7. rule — government
  8. ground — crushed
  9. roll — a cake
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. object — a thing
  12. shower — rain
  13. hand — help
  14. lean — thin
  15. spring — the season
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. ground — the earth
  19. object — to protest
  20. rule — a law
  21. spring — a coil
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. roll — a list
  24. hand — in cards

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