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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 120 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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. pound — a weight
  4. chest — of your body
  5. net — in sport
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. chest — of your body
  8. content — happy
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. saw — the tool
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. chest — a box
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. net — after costs
  17. mine — for digging
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. rule — government
  20. saw — the tool
  21. content — the amount
  22. rule — a law
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. pound — for dogs

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