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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. tear — from crying
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. chip — for betting
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. race — a contest
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. press — a publisher
  10. chip — to eat
  11. pit — in a race
  12. race — humankind
  13. press — to push
  14. tear — to rip
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. content — the amount
  17. pit — a hole
  18. press — newspapers
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. race — the arms race
  21. tear — from crying
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. coach — a trainer

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