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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. staff — employees
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. race — a contest
  6. band — a ring
  7. staff — a stick
  8. band — a music group
  9. game — a match
  10. staff — employees
  11. race — the arms race
  12. stock — shares
  13. rest — a break
  14. rest — what's left
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. rest — what's left
  17. game — wild animals
  18. stock — goods

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