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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 120 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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. content — happy
  3. ball — a great time
  4. firm — decided
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. content — the amount
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. firm — a company
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. rule — government
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. rash — hasty
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. row — a line
  15. row — to paddle
  16. rash — a series
  17. ball — a dance
  18. firm — steady
  19. rule — a law
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. deal — to handle
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bat — for baseball

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