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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. staff — a stick
  4. content — the amount
  5. race — the arms race
  6. spell — letters
  7. staff — employees
  8. staff — employees
  9. race — humankind
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. pop — to visit
  12. pitch — completely
  13. content — happy
  14. pop — music
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. race — a contest
  17. mine — for digging
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. pop — soda
  20. band — a ring
  21. spell — magic
  22. band — a music group
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. spell — a short time

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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