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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. content — the amount
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. object — a thing
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. mate — a partner
  8. mate — a friend
  9. cold — not warm
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. rule — government
  12. land — ground
  13. mate — to breed
  14. land — to come down
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. sharp — clever
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. land — a country
  19. rule — a law
  20. cold — an illness
  21. object — to protest
  22. object — an aim
  23. pound — a weight
  24. content — happy

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