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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: content · rule · ruler · court · land · snap · cell · season

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. land — a country
  5. snap — to click
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. content — the amount
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. season — in sport
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. season — of the year
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. land — to come down
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — a phone
  17. court — of law
  18. court — for sport
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. rule — government
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. court — of a king
  23. land — ground
  24. content — happy

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