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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. key — the most important part
  3. last — to go on
  4. shower — rain
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. content — the amount
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. race — humankind
  12. snap — to click
  13. key — in music
  14. last — final
  15. mine — for digging
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. key — for a lock
  18. last — finally
  19. race — a contest
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. content — happy
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. race — the arms race
  24. shower — to wash

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