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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. 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 — happy
  2. track — a path
  3. fine — high quality
  4. track — a song
  5. swing — in golf
  6. ground — a position
  7. fine — all right
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. track — to keep track
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. race — a contest
  13. bulb — for light
  14. ground — the earth
  15. ground — crushed
  16. swing — to play on
  17. race — humankind
  18. content — the amount
  19. kick — in football
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. swing — music
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. bulb — for light
  24. 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