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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. content — happy
  3. content — the amount
  4. bore — to tire
  5. rule — government
  6. court — of a king
  7. rock — music
  8. court — for sport
  9. cue — for pool
  10. land — to come down
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. cue — a hint
  13. hand — in cards
  14. bore — to drill
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. court — of law
  17. land — ground
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. rule — a law
  21. rock — a stone
  22. cue — a signal
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. land — a country

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