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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. wound — an injury
  3. present — a gift
  4. race — humankind
  5. wound — an injury
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. kick — in football
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. content — happy
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. race — the arms race
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. content — the amount
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. bound — certain
  17. bound — tied together
  18. bound — obliged
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. present — the time now
  21. squash — the sport
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. squash — to crush
  24. present — there

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