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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. content — happy
  3. bound — tied together
  4. content — the amount
  5. game — a match
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. rule — a law
  9. ball — a dance
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. bound — obliged
  12. bound — certain
  13. branch — a division
  14. rule — government
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. ball — a great time
  17. hand — help
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. game — wild animals
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. hand — in cards
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. hand — part of the body

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