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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 116 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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. saw — the tool
  3. staff — employees
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. charge — electricity
  6. charge — a price
  7. stock — shares
  8. stock — goods
  9. saw — the tool
  10. scale — in music
  11. wind — moving air
  12. charge — in control
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. staff — employees
  18. staff — a stick
  19. scale — size or range
  20. kid — to tease
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — the arms race
  23. race — humankind
  24. scale — for weighing

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