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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. last — final
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. shower — rain
  5. race — humankind
  6. shower — to wash
  7. race — the arms race
  8. last — to go on
  9. content — the amount
  10. last — finally
  11. chip — to eat
  12. tear — from crying
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pop — soda
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. pop — to visit
  19. chip — for betting
  20. pop — music
  21. content — happy
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. tear — to rip
  24. chip — in a computer

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