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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. spell — magic
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. spell — letters
  5. clip — to cut
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. content — the amount
  8. shower — to wash
  9. pop — music
  10. pop — to visit
  11. pop — soda
  12. content — happy
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. snap — to click
  16. race — humankind
  17. race — a contest
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. clip — a video
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. spell — a short time
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. shower — rain
  24. clip — for paper

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