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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. rule — government
  3. hand — help
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. pit — in a race
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. hand — in cards
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. content — happy
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pit — a hole
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — the animal
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. snap — to click
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. content — the amount
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. hand — part of the body

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