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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — an illness
  3. race — humankind
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. stock — goods
  6. branch — a division
  7. rule — a law
  8. rush — hurry
  9. rule — government
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. stock — shares
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. race — the arms race
  21. snap — to click
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. cold — not warm
  24. race — a contest

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