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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. race — the arms race
  4. mine — for digging
  5. bound — certain
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. club — for dancing
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. bear — the animal
  11. club — for golf
  12. file — a document
  13. club — a group
  14. file — a line of people
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. bound — obliged
  18. bear — the animal
  19. content — happy
  20. race — humankind
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. file — a tool
  23. content — the amount
  24. bound — tied together

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