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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: rule · content · land · cold · tear · mouse · mine · wave

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. content — the amount
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. content — happy
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. tear — to rip
  8. rule — a law
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. tear — from crying
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. mine — for digging
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. cold — not warm
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. cold — an illness
  17. tear — from crying
  18. rule — government
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. land — a country
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. land — to come down
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. land — ground

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