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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. mate — a partner
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. spell — magic
  9. game — a match
  10. race — humankind
  11. race — the arms race
  12. kid — to tease
  13. press — newspapers
  14. spell — letters
  15. press — to push
  16. game — wild animals
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. spell — a short time
  19. mate — to breed
  20. mate — a friend
  21. content — the amount
  22. kid — child
  23. press — a publisher
  24. content — happy

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