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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. rule — government
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. row — a line
  8. rule — a law
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. chip — to eat
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. shower — to wash
  14. content — the amount
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. chip — for betting
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. row — to paddle
  23. content — happy
  24. march — music

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