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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: snap · mine · court · sharp · jam · drill · rule · content

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. court — of a king
  4. snap — to click
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. rule — government
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. drill — a practice
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. sharp — clever
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. court — of law
  15. drill — army training
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. court — for sport
  18. content — happy
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. drill — the tool
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. rule — a law
  24. content — the amount

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