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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. content — happy
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. race — humankind
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. mark — a trace
  7. race — a contest
  8. rash — hasty
  9. object — an aim
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. mark — a grade
  12. ground — crushed
  13. race — the arms race
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. object — a thing
  17. content — the amount
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. ground — the earth
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. rash — a series
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. ground — a position

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