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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. tear — from crying
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. race — the arms race
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. content — the amount
  11. tear — to rip
  12. tear — from crying
  13. scale — size or range
  14. content — happy
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. foot — a measure
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. scale — in music
  20. race — a contest
  21. dip — to sink
  22. rock — music
  23. rock — a stone
  24. rock — to move gently

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