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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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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: march · ball · mug · squash · sharp · race · bulb · content

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. ball — a dance
  3. content — happy
  4. bulb — for light
  5. squash — to crush
  6. race — humankind
  7. race — a contest
  8. content — the amount
  9. mug — a cup
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. mug — a face
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. ball — a great time
  14. sharp — clever
  15. squash — the sport
  16. mug — to rob
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. march — the month
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. march — the month
  21. march — music
  22. bulb — for light
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. bulb — of a plant

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