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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. rule — government
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. rule — a law
  5. date — the fruit
  6. content — happy
  7. spell — a short time
  8. present — the time now
  9. row — to paddle
  10. snap — to click
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. present — a gift
  14. spell — letters
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. firm — steady
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. present — there
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. content — the amount
  21. spell — magic
  22. row — a line
  23. firm — a company
  24. date — on the calendar

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