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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 116 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: fall · ruler · march · mine · content · cell · press · rash

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cell — in biology
  4. march — music
  5. cell — a phone
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. content — happy
  8. march — the month
  9. mine — for digging
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. march — the month
  12. press — a publisher
  13. fall — the season
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. press — to push
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. press — newspapers
  19. rash — hasty
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — to drop
  24. rash — a series

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