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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bear — the animal
  4. race — the arms race
  5. wind — moving air
  6. last — final
  7. chair — a leader
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. race — humankind
  10. content — happy
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. last — to go on
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. last — finally
  17. bear — the animal
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. content — the amount
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. race — a contest
  24. content — videos and posts

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