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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. spell — letters
  4. race — humankind
  5. spell — a short time
  6. pit — a hole
  7. pound — a weight
  8. content — happy
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. date — the fruit
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. rest — a break
  13. pit — in a race
  14. race — a contest
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. content — the amount
  19. rest — what's left
  20. race — the arms race
  21. spell — magic
  22. rest — what's left
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. pound — to hit hard

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