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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. race — humankind
  3. rule — a law
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. stock — shares
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. sharp — clever
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. tear — from crying
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. tear — to rip
  14. squash — to crush
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. row — to paddle
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. tear — from crying
  19. row — a line
  20. race — a contest
  21. squash — the sport
  22. stock — goods
  23. race — the arms race
  24. rule — to rule out

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