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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. content — happy
  3. content — the amount
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. cell — a phone
  6. pit — in a race
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. rest — what's left
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. cell — in biology
  11. pitch — completely
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. spell — magic
  15. pit — a hole
  16. land — ground
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. spell — a short time
  19. rest — what's left
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. land — to come down
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. spell — letters
  24. rest — a break

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