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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. object — a thing
  4. object — to protest
  5. rest — what's left
  6. stock — shares
  7. last — final
  8. race — a contest
  9. last — to go on
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. craft — boats
  12. rest — what's left
  13. race — the arms race
  14. cold — an illness
  15. craft — a skill
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. object — an aim
  18. wake — a trail
  19. cold — not warm
  20. rest — a break
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. race — humankind
  24. last — finally

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