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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. pound — a weight
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. club — for golf
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. race — humankind
  9. race — a contest
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — moving air
  12. club — a group
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. capital — money
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — a city
  20. club — for dancing
  21. race — the arms race
  22. stock — goods
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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