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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: bowl · present · race · clip · lean · rash · chest · content

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. present — the time now
  4. clip — for paper
  5. lean — to bend
  6. race — humankind
  7. clip — to cut
  8. race — a contest
  9. rash — a series
  10. clip — a video
  11. chest — of your body
  12. lean — thin
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. content — the amount
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. content — happy
  19. present — a gift
  20. chest — a box
  21. chest — of your body
  22. race — the arms race
  23. rash — hasty
  24. present — there

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