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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. swing — music
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. cold — not warm
  8. swing — to play on
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. stock — shares
  11. race — humankind
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. stock — goods
  14. chair — a leader
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. race — a contest
  18. track — to keep track
  19. stand — to bear
  20. track — a path
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. cold — an illness
  23. swing — in golf
  24. race — the arms race

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