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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cap — a lid
  4. content — the amount
  5. cap — of ice
  6. spell — a short time
  7. cell — in biology
  8. spell — letters
  9. march — the month
  10. race — the arms race
  11. content — happy
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — humankind
  15. cell — a phone
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. rule — a law
  19. march — the month
  20. cap — a hat
  21. rush — hurry
  22. spell — magic
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. march — music

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