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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. pop — music
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. snap — to click
  5. content — happy
  6. season — in sport
  7. season — of the year
  8. spell — letters
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. pop — soda
  12. spell — a short time
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. chest — of your body
  16. race — humankind
  17. spell — magic
  18. chest — a box
  19. pop — to visit
  20. race — the arms race
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. content — the amount
  24. season — to add flavour

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