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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 116 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. race — the arms race
  3. content — the amount
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. net — after costs
  6. ball — a dance
  7. hand — in cards
  8. net — for catching
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. ball — a great time
  11. game — a match
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. net — in sport
  15. mate — a partner
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. content — happy
  18. mate — a friend
  19. game — wild animals
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. race — humankind
  23. mate — to breed
  24. race — a contest

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