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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: race · cell · content · saw · ground · wake · land · ball

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. ground — the earth
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. land — a country
  5. content — the amount
  6. wake — a trail
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. land — to come down
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. saw — the tool
  12. ground — crushed
  13. saw — the tool
  14. cell — a phone
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. ball — a great time
  17. race — humankind
  18. ball — a dance
  19. content — happy
  20. race — a contest
  21. land — ground
  22. cell — in biology
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. race — the arms race

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