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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. press — to push
  3. net — after costs
  4. net — for catching
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. content — happy
  7. cell — in biology
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. bear — the animal
  10. cell — a phone
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. lie — to recline
  13. content — the amount
  14. race — a contest
  15. bear — the animal
  16. rule — a law
  17. race — humankind
  18. press — newspapers
  19. press — a publisher
  20. net — in sport
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. race — the arms race
  24. lie — an untruth

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