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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. stock — shares
  5. wind — moving air
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. race — humankind
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. capital — money
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. stock — goods
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. capital — a city
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wind — moving air
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. race — the arms race
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. race — a contest

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