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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 116 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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  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 — the arms race
  2. content — the amount
  3. content — happy
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. can — a tin
  6. rock — music
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. season — in sport
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. can — to be able to
  11. race — humankind
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. can — a tin
  16. season — of the year
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. cold — not warm
  19. race — a contest
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bark — to shout
  22. cold — an illness
  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