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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. dip — to sink
  3. pop — to visit
  4. cell — a phone
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. race — a contest
  7. land — a country
  8. race — humankind
  9. race — the arms race
  10. pop — soda
  11. pitch — completely
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. land — ground
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. content — happy
  17. cell — in biology
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. pop — music
  23. land — to come down
  24. content — the amount

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