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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. content — happy
  4. row — to paddle
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. rule — government
  7. band — a music group
  8. band — a ring
  9. bass — the fish
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. object — a thing
  12. rule — a law
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. sharp — clever
  15. row — a line
  16. object — to protest
  17. object — an aim
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. bass — low music
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. wind — moving air

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