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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. cell — a phone
  4. key — for a lock
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. race — a contest
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cell — in biology
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. race — the arms race
  15. key — the most important part
  16. shower — rain
  17. pit — in a race
  18. race — humankind
  19. pit — a hole
  20. content — the amount
  21. key — in music
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. shower — to wash

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