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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. track — a path
  3. row — a line
  4. rule — a law
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. key — the most important part
  8. row — to paddle
  9. track — a song
  10. present — a gift
  11. key — for a lock
  12. land — a country
  13. content — happy
  14. track — to keep track
  15. swing — music
  16. swing — in golf
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. rule — government
  19. land — ground
  20. swing — to play on
  21. present — the time now
  22. key — in music
  23. land — to come down
  24. present — there

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