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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: race · dip · bowl · content · wound · tube · rest · kick

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. race — the arms race
  4. dip — to sink
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. content — the amount
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. race — humankind
  13. wound — an injury
  14. tube — the underground
  15. race — a contest
  16. wound — an injury
  17. content — happy
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. kick — in football
  20. rest — a break
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. tube — a container
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rest — what's left

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