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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 120 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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — finally
  5. current — happening now
  6. last — final
  7. current — of water
  8. race — the arms race
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. pop — soda
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. race — a contest
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. race — humankind
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. pop — to visit
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. current — electric
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. content — the amount
  21. content — happy
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. pop — music

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