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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. kid — to tease
  3. race — a contest
  4. wind — moving air
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. race — the arms race
  7. content — the amount
  8. content — happy
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. last — finally
  12. last — final
  13. march — the month
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. march — music
  17. kid — child
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. wind — moving air
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. last — to go on
  24. march — the month

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