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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. stock — shares
  3. race — the arms race
  4. scale — size or range
  5. wind — moving air
  6. rest — what's left
  7. fall — to drop
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. sharp — clever
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. race — a contest
  12. spring — a coil
  13. fall — the season
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. rest — a break
  16. scale — in music
  17. stock — goods
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. race — humankind
  20. rest — what's left
  21. wind — moving air
  22. fall — to drop
  23. spring — the season
  24. sharp — with an edge

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