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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — to go on
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. march — the month
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. last — finally
  12. rule — government
  13. toast — bread
  14. content — happy
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. pitch — completely
  17. content — the amount
  18. march — music
  19. game — wild animals
  20. game — a match
  21. rule — a law
  22. march — the month
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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