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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: race · wind · content · saw · present · kid · rule · last

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. content — the amount
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. rule — government
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. race — the arms race
  7. present — there
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. wind — moving air
  10. saw — the tool
  11. last — final
  12. content — happy
  13. present — the time now
  14. wind — moving air
  15. last — finally
  16. rule — a law
  17. race — humankind
  18. last — to go on
  19. kid — to tease
  20. kid — child
  21. present — a gift
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. race — a contest
  24. wind — to turn a key

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