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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 120 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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. land — ground
  3. race — humankind
  4. bear — the animal
  5. fall — the season
  6. land — to come down
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — a box
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. content — the amount
  11. squash — to crush
  12. land — a country
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. content — happy
  15. chest — of your body
  16. race — the arms race
  17. bass — low music
  18. race — a contest
  19. squash — the sport
  20. fall — to drop
  21. bear — the animal
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. bass — the fish
  24. fall — to drop

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