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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. bass — the fish
  4. wake — a trail
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — an injury
  8. mine — for digging
  9. dip — to sink
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. content — the amount
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. bass — low music
  14. saw — the tool
  15. rule — a law
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. saw — the tool
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. content — happy
  24. bass — the instrument

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