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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. bulb — for light
  3. rule — government
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. content — happy
  6. rule — a law
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. fall — the season
  10. degree — an amount
  11. fall — to drop
  12. content — the amount
  13. degree — from a university
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. date — the fruit
  16. bulb — for light
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. pit — a hole
  20. degree — temperature
  21. fall — to drop
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. pit — in a race
  24. wave — with your hand

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