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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. race — humankind
  3. cell — in biology
  4. lean — to bend
  5. mate — to breed
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. content — happy
  9. chip — to eat
  10. mate — a friend
  11. lean — thin
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. chip — for betting
  16. wind — moving air
  17. race — the arms race
  18. content — the amount
  19. cell — a phone
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. race — a contest
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wind — moving air

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