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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. mug — to rob
  3. content — happy
  4. deal — to handle
  5. scale — in music
  6. rule — a law
  7. court — of a king
  8. row — a line
  9. row — to paddle
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. saw — the tool
  12. content — the amount
  13. mug — a cup
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. mug — a face
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. court — for sport
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. court — of law
  21. saw — the tool
  22. scale — size or range
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. deal — an agreement

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