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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 116 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 are we going to ________________?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bound — obliged
  4. race — humankind
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. cold — an illness
  7. land — a country
  8. race — the arms race
  9. land — ground
  10. bound — certain
  11. race — a contest
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. charge — electricity
  14. fine — high quality
  15. charge — in control
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. charge — a price
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. stock — goods
  20. stock — shares
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bound — tied together
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. fine — all right

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