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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. season — in sport
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. season — of the year
  9. race — the arms race
  10. drill — a practice
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. stock — goods
  13. fall — to drop
  14. drill — the tool
  15. squash — to crush
  16. fall — the season
  17. stock — shares
  18. chair — a leader
  19. drill — army training
  20. race — a contest
  21. race — humankind
  22. squash — the sport
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. fall — to drop

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