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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. wound — an injury
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. race — humankind
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. content — the amount
  8. race — a contest
  9. track — a song
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. scale — size or range
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. track — to keep track
  18. wound — an injury
  19. track — a path
  20. bear — the animal
  21. scale — in music
  22. bat — the animal
  23. content — happy
  24. race — the arms race

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