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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 120 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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. rule — a law
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rest — what's left
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. content — the amount
  11. rule — government
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. rest — a break
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — not warm
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. squash — to crush
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. content — happy
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. content — videos and posts

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