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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: race · jam · rule · fall · content · net · cabinet · clip

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. rule — a law
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. clip — to cut
  5. content — the amount
  6. fall — to drop
  7. rule — government
  8. net — for catching
  9. race — humankind
  10. race — a contest
  11. content — happy
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. fall — the season
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. net — after costs
  18. clip — a video
  19. clip — for paper
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. race — the arms race
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. fall — to drop
  24. net — in sport

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