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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. bass — low music
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. race — humankind
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. bass — the fish
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. club — for dancing
  10. race — a contest
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. degree — temperature
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. stock — shares
  15. degree — from a university
  16. race — the arms race
  17. degree — an amount
  18. snap — to click
  19. stock — goods
  20. club — for golf
  21. club — a group
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. rash — hasty

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