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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. row — a line
  3. row — to paddle
  4. stock — goods
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. bear — the animal
  7. stock — shares
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. march — the month
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. file — a tool
  12. file — a line of people
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. race — humankind
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — to tease
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. march — the month
  19. bear — the animal
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. snap — to click
  22. march — music
  23. file — a document
  24. race — the arms race

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