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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: content · ruler · cap · mine · bass · snap · rule · club

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. content — the amount
  3. mine — for digging
  4. bass — low music
  5. cap — a lid
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. club — a group
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. rule — government
  10. cap — a hat
  11. cap — of ice
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. rule — a law
  14. club — for golf
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. snap — to click
  20. content — happy
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. club — for dancing
  24. mine — an explosive

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