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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 120 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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. pit — a hole
  4. chip — to eat
  5. mine — for digging
  6. race — humankind
  7. drill — army training
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. race — a contest
  10. content — the amount
  11. pit — in a race
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. content — happy
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. tear — to rip
  18. tear — from crying
  19. race — the arms race
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. drill — a practice
  22. tear — from crying
  23. chip — for betting
  24. lie — to recline

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