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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. race — humankind
  3. clip — a video
  4. bank — for money
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — to tease
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. mine — for digging
  9. race — a contest
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. bank — of a river
  13. ball — a great time
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. kid — child
  16. race — the arms race
  17. content — happy
  18. mate — a partner
  19. mate — to breed
  20. clip — for paper
  21. content — the amount
  22. bank — for money
  23. mate — a friend
  24. clip — to cut

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