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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. chip — for betting
  3. content — happy
  4. rule — a law
  5. rule — government
  6. shower — to wash
  7. content — the amount
  8. bound — obliged
  9. bound — tied together
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. ball — a dance
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. game — wild animals
  16. shower — rain
  17. fork — in a road
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. ball — a great time
  21. chip — to eat
  22. bound — certain
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. rule — to rule out

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