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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. shower — rain
  3. saw — the tool
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. mark — a trace
  8. fall — to drop
  9. race — humankind
  10. fall — the season
  11. bulb — for light
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. content — the amount
  15. saw — the tool
  16. bulb — for light
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. fall — to drop
  20. wind — moving air
  21. shower — to wash
  22. content — happy
  23. race — the arms race
  24. mark — a grade

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