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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 116 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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  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. lie — an untruth
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. can — a tin
  4. stock — goods
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bat — the animal
  7. race — a contest
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. stock — shares
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. fine — all right
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. fine — high quality
  15. race — humankind
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. can — a tin
  18. cold — not warm
  19. can — to be able to
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. race — the arms race
  22. lie — to recline
  23. scale — in music
  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