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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. object — to protest
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. rule — government
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. season — of the year
  9. rule — a law
  10. pound — a weight
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. season — in sport
  13. object — a thing
  14. content — the amount
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. object — an aim
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. mine — for digging
  24. fan — to cool the air

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