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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 120 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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. spring — of water
  3. race — humankind
  4. club — a group
  5. chair — a leader
  6. club — for golf
  7. club — for dancing
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. stock — goods
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. rest — what's left
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. rest — a break
  14. race — the arms race
  15. spring — a coil
  16. bound — certain
  17. bound — tied together
  18. race — a contest
  19. spring — the season
  20. squash — the sport
  21. squash — to crush
  22. bound — obliged
  23. stock — shares
  24. rest — what's left

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