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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. court — of a king
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. degree — temperature
  5. rule — government
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. content — happy
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. face — part of the head
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. face — to confront
  14. degree — from a university
  15. court — for sport
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. face — to point toward
  18. degree — an amount
  19. court — of law
  20. rule — a law
  21. mine — for digging
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. snap — to click
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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