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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. rule — a law
  3. snap — to click
  4. content — the amount
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. land — ground
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. rest — what's left
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. land — a country
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. mine — for digging
  14. rule — government
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. rest — what's left
  17. content — happy
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. prune — to trim
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. pass — a permit
  23. prune — to trim
  24. land — to come down

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