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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. content — happy
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. rule — a law
  5. branch — a division
  6. perch — the fish
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. game — wild animals
  9. bank — for money
  10. content — the amount
  11. bank — of a river
  12. game — a match
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. squash — the sport
  16. squash — to crush
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. bank — for money
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. mark — a trace
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. mark — a grade

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