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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. stock — goods
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. stock — shares
  8. chest — a box
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — moving air
  12. season — of the year
  13. chest — of your body
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. chest — of your body
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. season — in sport
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. cap — a hat
  20. race — the arms race
  21. cap — a lid
  22. cap — of ice
  23. race — humankind
  24. wind — to turn a key

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