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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: wave · face · dip · mine · club · rule · can · content

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. face — to confront
  3. rule — a law
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. face — part of the head
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. club — a group
  12. rule — government
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. dip — to sink
  16. content — happy
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. can — a tin
  19. club — for golf
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. can — a tin
  22. can — to be able to
  23. club — for dancing
  24. face — to point toward

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