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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: toast · rule · content · board · dip · mine · mate · cold

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. mate — a partner
  3. rule — government
  4. content — the amount
  5. cold — not warm
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. board — a committee
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. rule — a law
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. mine — for digging
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. board — to get on
  19. cold — an illness
  20. toast — bread
  21. mate — to breed
  22. dip — to sink
  23. content — happy
  24. mate — a friend

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