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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. stock — goods
  3. rule — government
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. race — humankind
  7. sharp — clever
  8. stock — shares
  9. squash — to crush
  10. row — to paddle
  11. squash — the sport
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. row — a line
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. race — a contest
  18. rule — a law

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