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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. rule — government
  3. firm — decided
  4. firm — steady
  5. firm — a company
  6. content — the amount
  7. content — happy
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. chest — a box
  11. rule — a law
  12. lie — to recline
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. chest — of your body
  15. clip — for paper
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. clip — a video
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. game — a match
  21. chest — of your body
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. game — wild animals
  24. clip — to cut

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