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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  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. content — happy
  2. track — a path
  3. race — the arms race
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. track — to keep track
  6. track — a song
  7. cell — in biology
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. wax — to grow
  10. content — the amount
  11. object — a thing
  12. land — a country
  13. object — an aim
  14. cell — a phone
  15. race — humankind
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. land — ground
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. object — to protest
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. land — to come down
  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