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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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. spring — of water
  3. stock — goods
  4. spring — the season
  5. pop — music
  6. mine — for digging
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. pop — to visit
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. race — a contest
  13. race — the arms race
  14. pop — soda
  15. charge — electricity
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. charge — a price
  18. stock — shares
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. chair — a leader
  21. charge — in control
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. race — humankind
  24. spring — a coil

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