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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. charge — in control
  3. content — the amount
  4. land — ground
  5. rule — government
  6. mine — for digging
  7. last — to go on
  8. charge — a price
  9. charge — electricity
  10. last — finally
  11. land — a country
  12. last — final
  13. content — happy
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. land — to come down
  16. face — to point toward
  17. face — to confront
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. face — part of the head
  24. patient — a sick person

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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