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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. race — humankind
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. can — a tin
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. rash — hasty
  7. mine — for digging
  8. row — to paddle
  9. chest — a box
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. rash — a series
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. can — a tin
  14. chest — of your body
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. race — the arms race
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. chest — of your body
  19. row — a line
  20. can — to be able to
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. race — a contest
  23. content — the amount
  24. content — happy

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