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

Word bank: object · date · kid · content · wind · race · rule · sharp

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. content — the amount
  3. wind — moving air
  4. object — a thing
  5. race — humankind
  6. object — to protest
  7. content — happy
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. sharp — clever
  10. date — the fruit
  11. rule — a law
  12. wind — moving air
  13. rule — government
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. object — an aim
  16. race — the arms race
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. race — a contest
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. kid — to tease
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. kid — child

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