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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. mine — for digging
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. rule — government
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. content — the amount
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. cell — a phone
  11. toast — bread
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. bulb — for light
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. bulb — for light
  20. cell — in biology
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. rule — a law
  24. chair — a leader

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