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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: bay · coach · chest · race · lie · ball · mine · content

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. content — the amount
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. race — the arms race
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. race — humankind
  8. content — happy
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — of your body
  12. mine — for digging
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. ball — a dance
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. ball — a great time
  19. chest — a box
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. lie — to recline
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. lie — an untruth

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