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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. content — happy
  4. land — to come down
  5. land — a country
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. dip — to sink
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. land — ground
  10. race — the arms race
  11. hand — in cards
  12. spell — a short time
  13. hand — help
  14. race — a contest
  15. spell — magic
  16. spell — letters
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. content — the amount
  24. race — humankind

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