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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. shower — to wash
  5. content — the amount
  6. squash — to crush
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. mate — a friend
  9. mate — to breed
  10. mate — a partner
  11. race — the arms race
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. lean — to bend
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. race — a contest
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. race — humankind
  20. shower — rain
  21. lean — thin
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. squash — the sport
  24. lean — to rest against

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