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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. race — the arms race
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. wind — moving air
  5. tube — a container
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. race — a contest
  8. wind — moving air
  9. race — humankind
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. tube — the underground
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. stock — shares
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. craft — a skill
  16. pound — a weight
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. field — farmland
  19. field — a subject
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. stock — goods
  22. field — for sport
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. craft — boats

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