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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. rule — government
  3. content — happy
  4. shower — rain
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. rest — what's left
  9. shower — to wash
  10. pound — a weight
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. rule — a law
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. mate — a partner
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. rest — a break
  19. mate — to breed
  20. mate — a friend
  21. content — the amount
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. rest — what's left

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