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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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. root — the cause
  5. race — the arms race
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. pitch — completely
  8. content — happy
  9. content — the amount
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. cold — an illness
  12. root — of a plant
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in biology
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. ball — a dance
  18. fine — high quality
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. root — of a word
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — humankind
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. ball — a great time

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