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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. race — the arms race
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. content — happy
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. shower — to wash
  11. shower — rain
  12. content — the amount
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. row — to paddle
  16. sharp — clever
  17. row — a line
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. mine — for digging
  21. pitch — completely
  22. race — a contest
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. sharp — exactly

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