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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. track — a song
  3. net — after costs
  4. net — in sport
  5. race — humankind
  6. last — finally
  7. race — a contest
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. kid — to tease
  10. track — a path
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. track — to keep track
  18. last — final
  19. lie — to recline
  20. net — for catching
  21. race — the arms race
  22. last — to go on
  23. content — happy
  24. kid — child

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