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

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. spell — a short time
  9. stock — goods
  10. spell — magic
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. spell — letters
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tear — from crying
  17. race — the arms race
  18. stock — shares
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. wake — a trail
  23. race — humankind
  24. nail — for a hammer

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