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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. track — to keep track
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. race — the arms race
  5. ball — a dance
  6. track — a path
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — an illness
  10. content — the amount
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. pitch — completely
  13. race — humankind
  14. content — happy
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. race — a contest
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. ball — a great time
  23. rule — a law
  24. track — a song

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