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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. race — a contest
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. race — the arms race
  7. fork — in a road
  8. wake — a trail
  9. cell — in biology
  10. kid — child
  11. content — happy
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. kid — to tease
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. race — humankind
  22. cell — a phone
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. content — the amount

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