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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. saw — the tool
  3. land — ground
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. present — a gift
  6. race — the arms race
  7. mine — for digging
  8. saw — the tool
  9. present — the time now
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. race — humankind
  12. tear — from crying
  13. race — a contest
  14. land — a country
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. present — there
  18. tear — to rip
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. content — happy
  21. tear — from crying
  22. land — to come down
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mine — an explosive

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