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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 water is too ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. rest — a break
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. spell — magic
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. spell — letters
  7. firm — steady
  8. firm — a company
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. fork — in a road
  11. spell — a short time
  12. race — a contest
  13. rest — what's left
  14. race — the arms race
  15. rest — what's left
  16. firm — decided
  17. snap — to click
  18. race — humankind
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. cold — an illness
  21. stock — shares
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. stock — goods
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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