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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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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 · present · rule · racket · firm · dip · cold · cell

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. firm — steady
  3. rule — a law
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. spring — a coil
  6. present — a gift
  7. spring — of water
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. cell — a phone
  10. cold — an illness
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — not warm
  14. rule — government
  15. spring — the season
  16. dip — to sink
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. cell — in biology
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. firm — decided
  23. present — there
  24. present — the time now

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