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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. rule — government
  3. content — happy
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. content — the amount
  6. hand — in cards
  7. clip — for paper
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. bore — to drill
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. hand — help
  17. clip — to cut
  18. bore — to tire
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. wake — a trail
  21. bulb — for light
  22. clip — a video
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. bulb — for light

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