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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 124 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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. charge — electricity
  3. rule — government
  4. row — a line
  5. mate — a partner
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. march — the month
  8. rush — hurry
  9. content — happy
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. march — the month
  13. rule — a law
  14. charge — a price
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. content — the amount
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. mate — a friend
  19. march — music
  20. charge — in control
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. row — to paddle
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. mate — to breed

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