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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. bound — tied together
  4. pit — a hole
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. land — a country
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — not warm
  9. content — the amount
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. rash — a series
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. staff — a stick
  14. cold — an illness
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. content — happy
  17. staff — employees
  18. bound — obliged
  19. rash — hasty
  20. land — ground
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. land — to come down
  23. bound — certain
  24. staff — employees

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