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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. pop — soda
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. cell — a phone
  7. land — to come down
  8. rule — a law
  9. pop — music
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. wax — to grow
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. cell — in biology
  15. content — happy
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. rule — government
  18. pop — to visit
  19. land — ground
  20. land — a country
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. pitch — completely
  24. jam — in traffic

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