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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. stock — shares
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. race — humankind
  5. rock — music
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. stock — goods
  8. tear — to rip
  9. tear — from crying
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. court — of a king
  12. race — the arms race
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. object — a thing
  15. court — for sport
  16. cap — a hat
  17. race — a contest
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. court — of law
  20. object — an aim
  21. object — to protest
  22. rock — a stone
  23. tear — from crying
  24. cap — of ice

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