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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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468
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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. content — the amount
  8. mate — to breed
  9. cell — a phone
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. mine — for digging
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. mate — a partner
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. cell — in biology
  18. rule — a law
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. rule — government
  21. content — happy
  22. pitch — completely
  23. mate — a friend
  24. content — videos and posts

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