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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — moving air
  6. drill — army training
  7. clip — a video
  8. content — happy
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. drill — the tool
  13. sharp — clever
  14. clip — for paper
  15. race — the arms race
  16. clip — to cut
  17. rush — hurry
  18. race — a contest
  19. drill — a practice
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. race — humankind

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