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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. content — the amount
  4. spell — magic
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. land — ground
  8. ground — the earth
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. spell — letters
  11. race — the arms race
  12. race — humankind
  13. content — happy
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. land — to come down
  16. ground — a position
  17. sharp — clever
  18. spell — a short time
  19. rule — a law
  20. branch — a division
  21. rule — government
  22. race — a contest
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. land — a country

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