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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. content — the amount
  4. spell — letters
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. toast — bread
  8. kid — to tease
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. spell — a short time
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. content — happy
  16. tube — the underground
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. date — the fruit
  19. race — the arms race
  20. tube — a container
  21. spell — magic
  22. kid — child
  23. race — humankind
  24. race — a contest

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