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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. race — a contest
  3. stock — shares
  4. chest — of your body
  5. clip — for paper
  6. stock — goods
  7. can — a tin
  8. race — humankind
  9. clip — to cut
  10. race — the arms race
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bass — the fish
  14. track — to keep track
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. can — a tin
  17. track — a song
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. bass — low music
  20. clip — a video
  21. cell — in biology
  22. track — a path
  23. chest — a box
  24. cell — a phone

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