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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. content — happy
  3. dip — to sink
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. spring — a coil
  6. content — the amount
  7. charge — electricity
  8. charge — in control
  9. branch — a division
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. spring — of water
  16. charge — a price
  17. rule — a law
  18. spring — the season
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. deal — to handle
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. chair — a leader

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