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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. land — a country
  4. content — the amount
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. content — happy
  7. current — electric
  8. cold — not warm
  9. race — humankind
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. land — to come down
  12. cold — an illness
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. prune — to trim
  20. current — of water
  21. race — a contest
  22. land — ground
  23. current — happening now
  24. race — the arms race

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