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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. scale — size or range
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. stock — shares
  5. fine — all right
  6. fine — high quality
  7. race — a contest
  8. tear — to rip
  9. race — the arms race
  10. stock — goods
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. mate — a friend
  15. mate — a partner
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. mate — to breed
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. tear — from crying
  21. scale — in music
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. tear — from crying
  24. race — humankind

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