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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. stock — goods
  3. last — final
  4. game — a match
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cell — a phone
  7. game — wild animals
  8. foot — a measure
  9. last — finally
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. race — the arms race
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. race — a contest
  16. capital — a city
  17. stock — shares
  18. capital — money
  19. last — to go on
  20. cell — in biology
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. snap — to click
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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