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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. club — for golf
  4. mine — for digging
  5. club — a group
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. ground — the earth
  9. content — happy
  10. rule — government
  11. ground — a position
  12. rule — a law
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. band — a ring
  15. pit — a hole
  16. content — the amount
  17. tear — from crying
  18. pit — in a race
  19. band — a music group
  20. tear — from crying
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. club — for dancing
  23. tear — to rip
  24. mine — belonging to me

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