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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. race — the arms race
  4. last — finally
  5. cold — an illness
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. chip — to eat
  8. bulb — for light
  9. race — humankind
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. last — to go on
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. mate — to breed
  14. content — happy
  15. last — final
  16. mate — a partner
  17. content — the amount
  18. chip — for betting
  19. race — a contest
  20. cold — not warm
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. mate — a friend
  23. bulb — for light
  24. mine — for digging

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