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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. tube — a container
  3. tube — the underground
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. race — a contest
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. race — the arms race
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. ball — a dance
  13. content — the amount
  14. date — the fruit
  15. mine — for digging
  16. race — humankind
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. ball — a great time
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. foot — a measure

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