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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. content — the amount
  3. march — the month
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — an illness
  6. swing — in golf
  7. swing — to play on
  8. cue — for pool
  9. file — a document
  10. march — music
  11. race — humankind
  12. march — the month
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cue — a signal
  15. file — a tool
  16. pop — soda
  17. race — a contest
  18. cue — a hint
  19. pop — to visit
  20. content — happy
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. swing — music
  23. pop — music
  24. file — a line of people

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