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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. shower — rain
  3. squash — to crush
  4. content — the amount
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. spell — a short time
  7. race — a contest
  8. mate — a friend
  9. mate — a partner
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. content — happy
  13. spell — magic
  14. mine — for digging
  15. mate — to breed
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. race — humankind
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. foot — a measure
  21. race — the arms race
  22. spell — letters
  23. shower — to wash
  24. mine — belonging to me

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