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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. rule — government
  7. wake — a trail
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. content — happy
  10. content — the amount
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. track — to keep track
  13. fine — all right
  14. saw — the tool
  15. cell — a phone
  16. spring — of water
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. track — a song
  19. fine — high quality
  20. spring — a coil
  21. spring — the season
  22. track — a path
  23. rule — a law
  24. cell — in biology

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