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

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. scale — in music
  5. rush — hurry
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. rule — government
  9. mark — a trace
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. content — the amount
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. mine — for digging
  14. mark — a grade
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. content — happy
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. date — the fruit
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. rule — a law
  23. scale — size or range
  24. mine — an explosive

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