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

Word bank: dip · race · last · content · bowl · chest · pound · rash

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. last — to go on
  4. rash — hasty
  5. rash — a series
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. last — final
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. chest — a box
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. last — finally
  14. race — the arms race
  15. content — happy
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. race — a contest
  19. dip — to sink
  20. pound — a weight
  21. chest — of your body
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. race — humankind
  24. content — the amount

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