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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: scale · bound · tear · race · mark · cold · present · content

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. race — the arms race
  4. bound — obliged
  5. race — a contest
  6. mark — a grade
  7. mark — a trace
  8. content — the amount
  9. content — happy
  10. present — a gift
  11. tear — to rip
  12. scale — in music
  13. cold — an illness
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. scale — size or range
  16. present — the time now
  17. bound — certain
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bound — tied together
  20. race — humankind
  21. cold — not warm
  22. present — there
  23. tear — from crying
  24. content — videos and posts

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