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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.

Make a worksheet

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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. wind — moving air
  4. race — the arms race
  5. wind — moving air
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. content — the amount
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. content — happy
  11. race — humankind
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. chair — a leader
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. race — a contest
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. wind — to turn a key

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