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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. race — a contest
  3. stock — shares
  4. spring — of water
  5. content — happy
  6. march — the month
  7. stem — to come from
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. stock — goods
  10. race — the arms race
  11. saw — the tool
  12. march — music
  13. race — humankind
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. spring — a coil
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. spring — the season
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. march — the month
  23. saw — the tool
  24. content — the amount

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