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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 116 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 ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. content — happy
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. content — the amount
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. wound — an injury
  7. tear — from crying
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. sharp — clever
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. march — the month
  14. march — the month
  15. march — music
  16. race — a contest
  17. race — the arms race
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. tear — to rip
  21. lie — to recline
  22. wound — an injury
  23. race — humankind
  24. tear — from crying

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