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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. race — the arms race
  3. scale — size or range
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. race — a contest
  7. kid — child
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. bore — to drill
  11. kid — to tease
  12. scale — in music
  13. wind — moving air
  14. race — humankind
  15. stock — shares
  16. stock — goods
  17. bore — to tire
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. toast — bread
  22. wind — moving air
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. patient — a sick person

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