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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. cold — an illness
  3. land — a country
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. craft — boats
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. cold — not warm
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. content — happy
  10. race — the arms race
  11. present — there
  12. land — ground
  13. bark — to shout
  14. race — humankind
  15. lie — to recline
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. present — the time now
  18. land — to come down
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. craft — a skill
  21. content — the amount
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. present — a gift
  24. lie — an untruth

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