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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. content — the amount
  3. hand — help
  4. rest — a break
  5. rest — what's left
  6. race — a contest
  7. hand — in cards
  8. spring — a coil
  9. rest — what's left
  10. scale — in music
  11. spring — of water
  12. mate — to breed
  13. race — humankind
  14. squash — the sport
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. mate — a friend
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. mate — a partner
  20. content — happy
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. squash — to crush
  23. spring — the season
  24. scale — size or range

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