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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. bound — tied together
  3. rule — a law
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. content — the amount
  6. content — happy
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. bound — obliged
  9. march — the month
  10. march — the month
  11. ball — a dance
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. bound — certain
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. march — music
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. clip — to cut
  20. clip — a video
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. clip — for paper
  23. rule — government
  24. ball — a great time

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