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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. land — to come down
  3. game — wild animals
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. plane — a tool
  6. game — a match
  7. race — humankind
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. race — the arms race
  11. land — ground
  12. kid — to tease
  13. content — happy
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. race — a contest
  16. squash — the sport
  17. content — the amount
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. kid — child
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. land — a country
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. squash — to crush

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