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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. rule — a law
  3. charge — a price
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. tube — the underground
  6. tube — a container
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. spring — of water
  9. spring — a coil
  10. chest — a box
  11. pop — to visit
  12. chest — of your body
  13. pop — music
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. kid — to tease
  16. content — the amount
  17. charge — in control
  18. chest — of your body
  19. spring — the season
  20. kid — child
  21. charge — electricity
  22. pop — soda
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. content — happy

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