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

Word bank: ruler · pit · cell · date · cold · content · perch · rush

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. content — happy
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. cell — a phone
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. cell — in biology
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. perch — the fish
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. content — the amount
  15. rush — hurry
  16. pit — a hole
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. date — the fruit
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. pit — in a race

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