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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. race — a contest
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. chair — a leader
  7. march — music
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. net — in sport
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. march — the month
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. race — humankind
  14. march — the month
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. net — for catching
  18. race — the arms race
  19. content — happy
  20. tube — a container
  21. net — after costs
  22. date — the fruit
  23. content — the amount
  24. tube — the underground

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