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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. content — the amount
  3. game — a match
  4. face — part of the head
  5. content — happy
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. face — to confront
  8. rule — government
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. game — wild animals
  11. rule — a law
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. face — to point toward
  15. date — the fruit
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. net — for catching
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. net — after costs
  21. board — a committee
  22. net — in sport
  23. board — to get on
  24. rule — to rule out

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