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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 120 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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. hand — help
  3. hand — in cards
  4. race — humankind
  5. chest — of your body
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. squash — to crush
  9. chest — of your body
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. race — the arms race
  12. stock — shares
  13. wax — to grow
  14. chest — a box
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. squash — the sport
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. stock — goods
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. race — a contest
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. wax — in the ear

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