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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. present — there
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. dip — to sink
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. rule — government
  7. content — the amount
  8. present — a gift
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. pop — soda
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bat — the animal
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. present — the time now
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. content — happy
  20. date — the fruit
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. rule — a law
  24. pop — music

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