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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. rash — a series
  3. stock — goods
  4. bank — for money
  5. race — humankind
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. tube — the underground
  9. kid — child
  10. race — the arms race
  11. chair — a leader
  12. stock — shares
  13. bat — the animal
  14. rash — hasty
  15. race — a contest
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. kid — to tease
  23. bank — of a river
  24. bank — for money

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