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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. swing — to play on
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. content — the amount
  5. current — electric
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. stand — to bear
  9. content — happy
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. row — a line
  12. current — happening now
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. row — to paddle
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. rule — government
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. swing — in golf
  20. current — of water
  21. date — the fruit
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. swing — 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