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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. race — humankind
  4. mate — to breed
  5. file — a tool
  6. file — a line of people
  7. tear — from crying
  8. content — the amount
  9. board — a committee
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. mate — a friend
  12. tear — from crying
  13. scale — in music
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. board — to get on
  16. mate — a partner
  17. race — the arms race
  18. race — a contest
  19. scale — size or range
  20. file — a document
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. tear — to rip

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