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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rule · wound · row · sharp · content · can

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. content — the amount
  3. wound — an injury
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. rule — a law
  7. can — a tin
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. row — a line
  11. wound — an injury
  12. content — happy
  13. can — to be able to
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. can — a tin
  16. rule — government
  17. sharp — clever
  18. row — to paddle

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