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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. staff — a stick
  6. snap — to click
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. roll — a list
  10. rule — government
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. roll — a cake
  14. drill — a practice
  15. staff — employees
  16. mark — a trace
  17. rule — a law
  18. content — the amount
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. drill — army training
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. content — happy
  23. mark — a grade
  24. drill — the tool

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