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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. race — humankind
  3. race — a contest
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. cap — a hat
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. lean — thin
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. race — the arms race
  10. mate — to breed
  11. chair — a leader
  12. lean — to bend
  13. kid — child
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. content — happy
  16. mate — a partner
  17. kid — to tease
  18. content — the amount
  19. mate — a friend
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. cap — a lid
  23. cap — of ice
  24. straw — dry grass

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