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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. cold — an illness
  4. content — happy
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. rule — a law
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. bat — the animal
  9. cold — not warm
  10. rule — government
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mine — for digging
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. pass — a permit
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. content — the amount
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. charge — electricity
  20. rash — a series
  21. rash — hasty
  22. charge — a price
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. charge — in control

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