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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 116 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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. race — humankind
  7. content — happy
  8. rush — hurry
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. drill — army training
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. deal — to handle
  13. race — the arms race
  14. race — a contest
  15. content — the amount
  16. drill — a practice
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. pitch — completely
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. ground — crushed
  22. ground — the earth
  23. drill — the tool
  24. rush — a thrill

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