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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. fall — to drop
  3. content — the amount
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. row — a line
  6. bore — to drill
  7. cell — a phone
  8. race — the arms race
  9. cell — in biology
  10. bore — to tire
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. race — a contest
  15. row — to paddle
  16. race — humankind
  17. cold — not warm
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. content — happy
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fall — the season

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