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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. rash — a series
  3. scale — size or range
  4. rule — government
  5. race — the arms race
  6. rash — hasty
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. scale — in music
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. race — humankind
  11. content — the amount
  12. race — a contest
  13. rule — a law
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. content — happy
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. land — ground
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. land — a country

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