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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 116 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. current — of water
  5. ground — crushed
  6. current — electric
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. clip — to cut
  9. land — a country
  10. content — happy
  11. current — happening now
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. cold — not warm
  14. ground — the earth
  15. clip — for paper
  16. land — to come down
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. lie — to recline
  19. land — ground
  20. cold — an illness
  21. ground — a position
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. clip — a video
  24. content — the amount

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