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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. ground — crushed
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. stock — shares
  5. race — the arms race
  6. stock — goods
  7. club — for golf
  8. club — for dancing
  9. tube — the underground
  10. tube — a container
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. saw — the tool
  13. march — the month
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. saw — the tool
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. race — a contest
  18. race — humankind
  19. ground — the earth
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. ground — a position
  22. club — a group
  23. march — music
  24. march — the month

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