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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. prune — to trim
  3. race — humankind
  4. swing — in golf
  5. board — a committee
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. race — the arms race
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. stock — goods
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. swing — to play on
  17. prune — to trim
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. swing — music
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. board — to get on
  22. cell — in biology
  23. race — a contest
  24. cell — a phone

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