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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. shower — to wash
  5. spring — of water
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — humankind
  8. content — happy
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. spring — the season
  11. clip — a video
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. current — of water
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. spring — a coil
  16. pass — a permit
  17. clip — to cut
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. shower — rain
  20. current — electric
  21. race — the arms race
  22. clip — for paper
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. current — happening now

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