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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 116 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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  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. rash — hasty
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. content — the amount
  4. wound — an injury
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. fall — to drop
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wound — an injury
  9. game — a match
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. land — to come down
  13. rule — government
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. fall — to drop
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. game — wild animals
  19. land — ground
  20. content — happy
  21. fall — the season
  22. rash — a series
  23. land — a country
  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