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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. content — the amount
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. race — the arms race
  5. content — happy
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. race — a contest
  9. race — humankind
  10. capital — a city
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. march — music
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. march — the month
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. capital — money
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. date — the fruit
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. march — the month

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