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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. race — a contest
  3. track — a song
  4. tear — to rip
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. content — happy
  8. tear — from crying
  9. track — a path
  10. content — the amount
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. race — humankind
  15. track — to keep track
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. tear — from crying
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. sharp — clever
  21. pit — in a race
  22. snap — to click
  23. pit — a hole
  24. sharp — exactly

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