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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. mug — a cup
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. hand — help
  5. saw — the tool
  6. mug — a face
  7. rash — a series
  8. hand — in cards
  9. rash — hasty
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. rule — a law
  13. content — the amount
  14. net — in sport
  15. content — happy
  16. net — after costs
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. mug — to rob
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. net — for catching
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. fork — in a road

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