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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: rule · can · content · straw · face · land · row · ground

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. row — a line
  4. rule — government
  5. land — ground
  6. land — a country
  7. can — to be able to
  8. face — part of the head
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. ground — a position
  11. content — the amount
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. ground — crushed
  14. row — to paddle
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. ground — the earth
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. face — to point toward
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. can — a tin
  21. rule — a law
  22. can — a tin
  23. content — happy
  24. face — to confront

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