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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. fall — to drop
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. rest — a break
  5. suit — clothes
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. fall — the season
  12. chair — a leader
  13. rest — what's left
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — an injury
  16. rule — government
  17. rule — a law
  18. suit — in cards
  19. content — the amount
  20. suit — to fit
  21. fall — to drop
  22. rest — what's left
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. nail — for a hammer

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