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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. content — happy
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. rule — government
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. content — the amount
  8. net — for catching
  9. last — finally
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. mug — a face
  12. mug — a cup
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. net — in sport
  15. cold — an illness
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. net — after costs
  20. rule — a law
  21. mug — to rob
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. last — to go on
  24. cold — not warm

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