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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wake — a trail
  3. chair — a leader
  4. race — humankind
  5. race — a contest
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. stock — shares
  8. stock — goods
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. rule — a law
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. roll — a cake
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. roll — a list
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. branch — a division
  21. rule — government
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. race — the arms race

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