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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. pitch — completely
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. branch — a division
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. ground — crushed
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. ground — the earth
  13. land — ground
  14. chip — for betting
  15. race — humankind
  16. stock — shares
  17. race — the arms race
  18. land — a country
  19. land — to come down
  20. tube — a container
  21. race — a contest
  22. ground — a position
  23. stock — goods
  24. chip — to eat

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