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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. last — final
  3. ground — the earth
  4. content — happy
  5. race — the arms race
  6. prune — to trim
  7. rule — a law
  8. last — to go on
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. ground — a position
  11. content — the amount
  12. prune — to trim
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. rule — government
  18. race — a contest
  19. race — humankind
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. pitch — completely
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. last — finally

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