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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. content — happy
  3. saw — the tool
  4. craft — boats
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. content — the amount
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. sharp — clever
  11. field — a subject
  12. key — in music
  13. rule — a law
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. field — for sport
  16. craft — a skill
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. saw — the tool
  19. field — farmland
  20. key — the most important part
  21. key — for a lock
  22. bass — the fish
  23. bass — low music
  24. content — videos and posts

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