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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. content — the amount
  3. mate — a partner
  4. race — humankind
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. press — a publisher
  8. press — to push
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. content — happy
  11. wound — an injury
  12. key — in music
  13. race — a contest
  14. lean — to bend
  15. key — the most important part
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. scale — size or range
  18. mate — to breed
  19. race — the arms race
  20. key — for a lock
  21. press — newspapers
  22. lean — thin
  23. scale — in music
  24. mate — a friend

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