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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 124 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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. stock — shares
  3. tear — from crying
  4. staff — a stick
  5. last — to go on
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — the arms race
  8. last — final
  9. swing — to play on
  10. swing — music
  11. spring — the season
  12. race — humankind
  13. tear — to rip
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. staff — employees
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. stock — goods
  18. swing — in golf
  19. staff — employees
  20. tear — from crying
  21. spring — of water
  22. mark — a trace
  23. spring — a coil
  24. mark — a grade

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