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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. object — a thing
  3. cell — a phone
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. object — to protest
  6. last — final
  7. rule — a law
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. rule — government
  10. object — an aim
  11. content — the amount
  12. bulb — for light
  13. cell — in biology
  14. content — happy
  15. bulb — for light
  16. wound — an injury
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. last — to go on
  19. wound — an injury
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. last — finally
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. scale — in music

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