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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  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. rest — what's left
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. field — farmland
  5. rule — government
  6. field — a subject
  7. mark — a trace
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. mark — a grade
  10. rest — a break
  11. content — happy
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. degree — from a university
  15. field — for sport
  16. rest — what's left
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. degree — an amount
  19. content — the amount
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. degree — temperature
  23. rush — hurry
  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