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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. chip — for betting
  3. chest — of your body
  4. content — the amount
  5. land — a country
  6. object — to protest
  7. object — a thing
  8. rule — government
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. object — an aim
  12. band — a music group
  13. land — to come down
  14. land — ground
  15. chest — a box
  16. content — happy
  17. pit — a hole
  18. band — a ring
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. chest — of your body
  21. pit — in a race
  22. chip — to eat
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. rule — a law

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