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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. pitch — completely
  3. content — the amount
  4. wind — moving air
  5. ball — a dance
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. race — the arms race
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. race — humankind
  11. wind — moving air
  12. season — of the year
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. content — happy
  15. ball — a great time
  16. race — a contest
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. season — in sport
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. rash — a series
  24. rash — hasty

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