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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. stock — shares
  5. key — the most important part
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — for sport
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. race — a contest
  11. spring — a coil
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. race — the arms race
  14. spring — the season
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. spring — of water
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. field — farmland
  20. key — in music
  21. key — for a lock
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. stock — goods

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