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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. content — the amount
  3. staff — a stick
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. shower — to wash
  6. spring — of water
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. content — happy
  10. race — the arms race
  11. shower — rain
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. wound — an injury
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. race — a contest
  17. race — humankind
  18. staff — employees
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. spring — the season
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. spring — a coil
  23. staff — employees
  24. arm — a part of something

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