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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. content — the amount
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. wind — moving air
  7. content — happy
  8. wind — moving air
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. mine — for digging
  11. race — a contest
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. snap — to click
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. race — the arms race
  19. band — a music group
  20. band — a ring
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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