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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 116 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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. tube — the underground
  5. last — final
  6. face — to point toward
  7. last — to go on
  8. pop — to visit
  9. last — finally
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. content — the amount
  12. rule — government
  13. pop — soda
  14. face — to confront
  15. content — happy
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. tube — a container
  18. face — part of the head
  19. prune — to trim
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. pop — music
  23. prune — to trim
  24. hide — to keep secret

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