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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. drill — a practice
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. race — the arms race
  6. content — the amount
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. race — a contest
  10. toast — bread
  11. race — humankind
  12. court — of law
  13. land — a country
  14. drill — the tool
  15. deal — to handle
  16. court — of a king
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. drill — army training
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. land — to come down
  22. land — ground
  23. court — for sport
  24. toast — the most admired

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