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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. net — for catching
  5. race — a contest
  6. race — the arms race
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. bear — the animal
  9. ground — a position
  10. net — after costs
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. bear — the animal
  15. net — in sport
  16. content — happy
  17. ground — the earth
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. content — the amount
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. date — the fruit
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. race — humankind

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