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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 like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. scale — in music
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. race — the arms race
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. cold — not warm
  9. row — to paddle
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. dip — to sink
  13. race — humankind
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. content — happy
  17. row — a line
  18. content — the amount
  19. cold — an illness
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. pitch — completely
  22. scale — size or range
  23. race — a contest
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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