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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. mate — a partner
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. spring — a coil
  5. race — a contest
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. content — the amount
  8. lie — to recline
  9. content — happy
  10. rule — a law
  11. mate — to breed
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. rule — government
  15. race — humankind
  16. saw — the tool
  17. mate — a friend
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. race — the arms race
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. saw — the tool
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. spring — of water
  24. pitch — completely

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