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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. last — final
  3. race — the arms race
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. game — wild animals
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. chip — to eat
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. content — the amount
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. content — happy
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. last — to go on
  16. chip — for betting
  17. game — a match
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. lie — to recline
  23. last — finally
  24. race — humankind

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