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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. pop — soda
  3. rash — a series
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. race — humankind
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. content — happy
  9. race — the arms race
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. pop — to visit
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. rash — hasty
  17. race — a contest
  18. pop — music
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. lie — to recline
  23. branch — a division
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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