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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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. date — the fruit
  5. fall — the season
  6. bore — to drill
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. spring — a coil
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. hand — help
  11. fall — to drop
  12. spring — of water
  13. rule — government
  14. spring — the season
  15. content — happy
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. hand — in cards
  20. fall — to drop
  21. content — the amount
  22. bore — to tire
  23. chip — for betting
  24. rule — a law

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