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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. kid — to tease
  3. rule — government
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. shower — rain
  7. wake — a trail
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. court — for sport
  10. content — the amount
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. kid — child
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. content — happy
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. court — of a king
  19. shower — to wash
  20. rule — a law
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. fine — all right
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. court — of law

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