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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 met the new head ________________?
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. content — the amount
  4. net — in sport
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. rush — hurry
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. content — happy
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — a line
  14. net — after costs
  15. net — for catching
  16. rule — government
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. fork — in a road
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. row — to paddle
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. rule — a law
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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