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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. bear — the animal
  3. race — a contest
  4. race — the arms race
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. rush — hurry
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. march — music
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. rule — a law
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. season — of the year
  13. race — humankind
  14. march — the month
  15. content — happy
  16. spell — magic
  17. spell — a short time
  18. march — the month
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. bear — the animal
  22. season — in sport
  23. content — the amount
  24. spell — letters

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