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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: spring · file · mouse · degree · rule · last · mine · bass

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. spring — of water
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. last — finally
  6. file — a tool
  7. mine — for digging
  8. bass — low music
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. last — final
  11. degree — temperature
  12. file — a line of people
  13. spring — a coil
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. degree — from a university
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. rule — government
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. last — to go on
  20. rule — a law
  21. degree — an amount
  22. file — a document
  23. bass — the fish
  24. mine — belonging to me

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