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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. race — the arms race
  4. cold — an illness
  5. race — humankind
  6. stock — goods
  7. rest — what's left
  8. court — of law
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. race — a contest
  11. cold — not warm
  12. rest — what's left
  13. court — for sport
  14. court — of a king
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. ground — the earth
  17. ground — crushed
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. fine — high quality
  21. fine — all right
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. stock — shares
  24. ground — a position

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