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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. race — the arms race
  3. object — a thing
  4. stock — shares
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. object — to protest
  7. squash — to crush
  8. saw — the tool
  9. current — of water
  10. current — electric
  11. race — humankind
  12. net — for catching
  13. last — to go on
  14. net — in sport
  15. last — finally
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. stock — goods
  19. current — happening now
  20. race — a contest
  21. net — after costs
  22. saw — the tool
  23. squash — the sport
  24. object — an aim

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