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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. race — a contest
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. swing — to play on
  6. pop — to visit
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. wound — an injury
  11. scale — in music
  12. swing — music
  13. pop — music
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. stock — shares
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. race — the arms race
  18. race — humankind
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. pop — soda
  21. rush — hurry
  22. swing — in golf
  23. wound — an injury
  24. scale — size or range

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