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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. land — a country
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. content — the amount
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. land — to come down
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. pitch — completely
  11. race — humankind
  12. land — ground
  13. race — a contest
  14. hand — help
  15. hand — in cards
  16. content — happy
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. race — the arms race

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