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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  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. race — a contest
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. kid — child
  4. rule — a law
  5. content — happy
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. race — the arms race
  8. content — the amount
  9. race — humankind
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. game — wild animals
  13. cell — in biology
  14. mate — to breed
  15. mate — a partner
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. kid — to tease
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. cell — a phone
  20. game — a match
  21. rule — government
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. coach — a trainer
  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