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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 120 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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. chest — a box
  3. cold — not warm
  4. race — the arms race
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. race — a contest
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. track — a path
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. sharp — clever
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. track — to keep track
  16. track — a song
  17. race — humankind
  18. content — happy
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. chest — of your body
  21. wind — moving air
  22. content — the amount
  23. cold — an illness
  24. chest — of your body

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