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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. rule — a law
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. content — happy
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. object — an aim
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. cell — a phone
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. pop — music
  11. object — to protest
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. race — a contest
  14. pop — soda
  15. object — a thing
  16. cell — in biology
  17. pop — to visit
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. race — the arms race
  22. race — humankind
  23. rule — government
  24. content — the amount

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