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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: content · cold · wake · race · deal · kick · mug · hand

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. race — the arms race
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. race — a contest
  6. deal — to handle
  7. content — the amount
  8. kick — in football
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. content — happy
  11. mug — to rob
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. cold — not warm
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. cold — an illness
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. hand — in cards
  20. race — humankind
  21. wake — a trail
  22. mug — a cup
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. mug — a face

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