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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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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: wound · hide · race · game · tear · content · bulb · dip

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  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. game — a kind of play
  2. dip — to sink
  3. game — a match
  4. content — happy
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — an injury
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. race — humankind
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. content — the amount
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. race — the arms race
  13. bulb — for light
  14. game — wild animals
  15. bulb — for light
  16. tear — from crying
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. tear — from crying
  21. race — a contest
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. tear — to rip
  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