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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. stock — goods
  3. present — the time now
  4. race — humankind
  5. present — there
  6. stock — shares
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. court — for sport
  9. spring — a coil
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. spring — the season
  14. snap — to click
  15. present — a gift
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. court — of law
  19. spring — of water
  20. court — of a king
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. race — the arms race
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. stock — a soup base

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