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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 116 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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. race — a contest
  3. sharp — clever
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. rash — hasty
  6. file — a tool
  7. race — humankind
  8. perch — the fish
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. race — the arms race
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. file — a document
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. key — for a lock
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. key — in music
  18. rash — a series
  19. spell — a short time
  20. file — a line of people
  21. spell — magic
  22. spell — letters
  23. stock — shares
  24. key — the most important part

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