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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. race — the arms race
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. chest — a box
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. race — a contest
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. content — the amount
  10. content — happy
  11. chest — of your body
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. race — humankind
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. chest — of your body
  19. wound — an injury
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. branch — a division
  22. wound — an injury
  23. mine — for digging
  24. hide — to keep secret

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