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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. spell — magic
  3. last — finally
  4. stock — shares
  5. last — to go on
  6. rule — a law
  7. spell — a short time
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. last — final
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. can — a tin
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. can — to be able to
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. race — the arms race
  16. spell — letters
  17. kid — child
  18. stock — goods
  19. kid — to tease
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. can — a tin
  22. mine — for digging
  23. rule — government
  24. race — humankind

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