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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. game — wild animals
  4. fine — all right
  5. clip — for paper
  6. date — the fruit
  7. rule — a law
  8. chair — a leader
  9. game — a match
  10. wound — an injury
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. content — the amount
  16. clip — to cut
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. fine — high quality
  20. rule — government
  21. clip — a video
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. content — happy

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