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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. content — the amount
  3. lie — to recline
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stock — shares
  7. spring — the season
  8. race — humankind
  9. spring — a coil
  10. content — happy
  11. race — a contest
  12. drill — a practice
  13. ground — a position
  14. club — for golf
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. drill — the tool
  17. ground — the earth
  18. spring — of water
  19. race — the arms race
  20. stock — goods
  21. club — a group
  22. club — for dancing
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. drill — army training

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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