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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  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. race — the arms race
  2. tear — to rip
  3. race — a contest
  4. file — a document
  5. band — a ring
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. last — final
  8. last — to go on
  9. race — humankind
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. stock — goods
  13. snap — to click
  14. file — a line of people
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. file — a tool
  17. band — a music group
  18. tear — from crying
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. stock — shares
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. bowl — a football final
  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